‘I just sort of got fed up with fiddly food,’ he says leading us up the stairs to his first floor kitchen. ‘I wanted to get back to simple, fun food.’ As well as the Chicken Kiev, whose origin is as much a mystery as what goes into the hideous things that call themselves Kievs in the supermarket, he does Gala pies and Arctic Rolls too, all things that appeal to the 70’s schoolboy in us all.

Have you been to Watatsumi? It’s a bit fishy in there. No, not in that “there’s something suspicious going on” sort of way but rather, they’re a bit fish obsessed. Qin Xie was recently invited to an evening of cocktail making at Watatsumi, the high-end Japanese restaurant at The Club Quarters Hotel.

Andy Cook is putting the grill back into The Savoy Grill, with best of British cooking that is not a homage or a pastiche but just proper dishes done with style and flair and a sense of British achievement and proud British produce. Nick Harman joins Andy in the kitchen to salute the flag.

There’s some nervous, edgy eye contact, we’re introduced, shake hands, then move to different parts of Caldesi’s place. The clock was ticking by, moving ever closer to High Noon. This hullabaloo had been arranged to find the perfect chilli, as part of the launch of Loyd Grossman’s ‘classic’ and ‘fiery’ chilli sauces, there could be casualties.

The Iberican Pork Burger has gone down a storm at The Opera Tavern in Covent Garden London. Head Chef Ben Tish fires up the josper grill and shows us how it’s done

Have you ever listened to one of those relaxation tapes? The ones where you’re told to imagine a ‘happy place’ then prodded in the right direction. Usually you find yourself directed to a beach. Inevitably there’s a sailing boat and warm, golden sand between your toes. Can you hear the sea lapping the shore? Congratulations, you’ve found your happy place.

With marmalade appearing in the news here, there and everywhere, you’d think it was in vogue. But it’s not. The truth is, it never really went out of fashion.

Are you still matching red wine with your cheese? How about mixing it up with some single malt whiskies instead. Picking the right partnerships is a bit tricky though so why not let a master whisky sommelier do the choosing for you? We take a taste trip with Angelo Gobbi the man in charge of the remarkable Whisky Bar at The Athenaeum in Park Lane.

You won’t have to be an artist, music lover or someone struck by interesting architecture to enjoy a visit to or stay at Grim’s Dyke, you will be charmed by what it is, a great, quaint, well preserved Victorian house that has some very interesting history to it. At the very least go there and enjoy a meal in the restaurant, or afternoon tea, you absolutely won’t be disappointed.

Valentine’s Day’s big business, but why do we willingly buy into the ‘erotic’ food scam every year? Rather than saying ‘I love you,’ isn’t our shameful lack of originality saying something lacklustre or worse: is your partner initiating foodie foreplay with a symbolic asparagus spear, or deadly indifference?