‘When asked to cook something from Adam Byatt’s (Chef Patron at Trinity, Clapham) new book and describe the experience for Foodepedia ex -student Daniel Frank felt a sense of mixed emotions. On the one hand he likes cooking – he spent three years at university forcing experimental ‘soups’ on people – on the other he’s not very good at it.’ Well he certainly got that last bit right.

‘I took a leap of faith. I wanted to get back to my roots, get back to the land and get back to using my hands – so I became a chef”. So begins my chat with Georgia Pellegrini, whose gutsy move to quit her high-flying Lehman Brothers job has certainly paid off. Her much acclaimed first book, Food Heroes was published in September following her hugely successful blog. Foodepedia finally managed to catch up with her, minus her infamous shotgun, on her recent foray – or should that be forage – to Blighty.

Douglas Blyde gets high while watching his breath condense at leading Port and Portuguese table wine producer, Quinta do Crasto in the breathtaking Douro Valley.

I arrived and was introduced to the crew and fellow contestants, before being asked if we would like to sample some of the Hardys wines that we would be able to select from to go with our individual courses. As you are probably aware, Hardys sponsor Come Dine With Me and of course, my fellow contestants and I were more than happy to taste the wines.

Behind one nondescript blue door on a quiet residential street in Hammersmith, a single garage is the home of the microdistillery producing award-winning spirits. Located on the site of a former microbrewery, Sipsmiths is the brain-child of Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall. Taking advantage of a little wintry sunshine, Qin Xie went to meet the makers to learn a little more.

At Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey they have a bakery that turns out breads that you wouldn’t believe. And the pastries are just perfect too. Nick Harman gets all floury in his prose as he tries out the new Baking Masterclass the luxury hotel has on offer.

Anchovies are like Marmite, loved or hated. We love them at Foodepedia and jumped at the chance of a comparative tasting under the keen eye and palate of Jose Pizzaro.

The final Sofitel Stars, Food and Art is the biggest and best yet. Six 2 Starred Michelin chefs cook one course each at Sofitel The Grand Amsterdam and the result is culinary perfection. Nick Harman packs his clogs and black tie and joins the lucky diners.

The cat’s out of the bag. Prince William and Kate Middleton are finally engaged and speculation reigns about the forthcoming nuptials. While we all love a good royal knees-up, here at Foodepedia HQ we’re not really interested in where it will take place, who will design the dress, or whether Carole will kickstart the conga – all we want to know is what will be on the menu!

Douglas Blyde wastes no time in sampling Cornwall’s bounty of meaty crabs, saline oysters and hardy cattle…