With snow thick on the ground in London, buses off the road and the pavement an ice rink we head somewhere warmer, Scotland, to be introduced to the dubious delights of the Haggis Bonbon.

It’s past 2pm on a Monday and the Bavarian Beerhouse is quiet, which is a rarity in a place known for uproarious good times. At one table three people are sitting with the funny Bavarian hats the bar sells on their heads, they seem unselfconsciously determined to enjoy the experience even if it makes them look like Hobbits on a geography field-trip. Vast glasses of beer are in front of them, even vaster plates of sausages and ham hocks are there too. They have the air of very happy punters.

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Foodepedia travels to southwest France to learn more about the most heart friendly wines in the world – and to influence their future blends.

Madame Zingara’s is an exciting, bohemian circus experience and one with fine dining to accompany the cabaret. Nick Harman went backstage to see how the kitchen pulls off a major meal every night.

‘A good cookery book should always be covered in food stains,’ laughs Trina Hahnemahn when I tell her about the sorry state of my copy of her excellent The Scandinavian Cookbook. It’s a book so packed with recipes that leap off the page and demand to be cooked that I’ve had a hard time keeping my sticky hands off of it.

We all love a golden, crunchy roast potato and never more so than on Christmas Day. Whether it’s a turkey, pork, goose or beef dinner the one thing we all agree on is that it’s not right without a roast tater or two. But how do you make them perfect? Check in any recipe book, or ask your mum, and you’ll get all kinds of varying opinion on cooking times, type of spud and what kind of fat to use. At this time of year it seemed vital that we nail this dilemma quickly so we decided to get a top chef to cook up a pile of spuds to try and work out once and for all how best to get a right roast result.

Gordon Ramsay has memorably pulled a noodle, as we now know of course, but today is my chance to try my hand at this genuinely ancient art. Teddy K.C Chen a Director of Inn Noodle confirms the noodle’s long history while letting a small grin crack his otherwise stern face, ‘Italians think they invented pasta and spaghetti, huh? Stolen from Chinese!”

Right now the big must-do added extra on the Vinopolis tour for Xmas is the Port tasting, because after all what is Xmas without port? So after a trip through the wine rooms and admiring the clever little ideas like the battered 2CV van in France and the virtual Piaggio scooter ride in Italy, we fetch up at the port bar to try five different ports, together with some Stichelton cheese supplied by Neal’s Yard.

Who’d have thought an Oasis song would provide a headline for a piece about baking? Can’t see Liam in a pinafore really but Patsy….mmm. Anyway, those other charming Northerners, the people at Jus-Rol™, have put on a demo of just how easy their ready-made pastry is to use as a quick route to tasty meals and, being a bit fond of the product, I’ve rolled up to watch.