Welcome.

hat a month it’s been… A time of seismic change. First a new PM, then two days later the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – and now the start of a new era with King Charles III ascending the throne. It’s a lot to assimilate after three years of pandemic, loss and hardship, coupled with war in Ukraine, broader world instability and warnings of a looming economic crisis.

Periods of uncertainty throw into sharp relief the constancy the Queen represented, constancy you appreciate fully only when it’s no longer there. One of the Queen’s most admirable attributes was her ability to listen, learn and make changes, all the while relying on her faith and integrity to shape her decisions. Imagine taking on all that responsibility aged 25, at a time when married women were barely visible in the workplace… At least it’s good to know she always had a marmalade sandwich in her handbag for sustenance!

Mulling over the changes in society (and food) during the course of Her Majesty’s 70-year reign, the level of adapatability required was immense in terms of gauging the mood of the nation. The deprivations of war and rationing were at the centre of everyday life when she took to the throne in 1952. Anyone who lived through those times has an enduring commitment to thrift. My Welsh grandma’s favourite phrase was ‘waste not, want not’ (along with ‘enough is as good as a feast’) and she never roasted a chicken without stretching it to last three meals, making stock from the bones. Now, we could all do with that nous to make something out of little. Two World Wars virtually put an end to farmhouse cheesemaking in Britain; now our cheese rivals the best in the world. Our cuisine used to be subject to ridicule; no