Imagine a table covered with the softest hand woven linen, wonky bowls and plates, glistening glasses, mismatched cutlery, creamy candles and vases of hand picked flowers. Upon that table is a feast of healthy, seasonal vegetarian dishes that have been elevated into something really special through the liberal use of herbs, spices and interesting ingredients gathered from our travels around the countries that kiss the coast of the Mediterranean from the delicately fragrant hills of France, Italy and Greece to the big gutsy flavours of Turkey, Lebanon and Palestine.

‘A Sense of Place’ will feature a series of Mediterranean menus for you to create in your own kitchen for the people you love the most. This July our menu is inspired by an early summer dash to Corfu where we started each day with a walk through the abundant farmer’s market admiring the stalls piled high with the freshest produce imaginable and the wonderful lunches we enjoyed in the tiny traditional tavernas of beautiful Old Town.

Each menu will feature the very best in quality Mediterranean products personally selected by the founder of Raphael’s Deli Products as well as expertly paired wines from the Director of Novel Wines, one the UK’s most exciting wine retailers specialising in the truly unique and wonderful.

Building on my dream of making more time for each other, travelling to out of the way places and discovering old family recipes, your table can become the one around which we can all come together to share our thoughts on how to live a simpler, happier life through heartfelt friendship, generosity of spirit, curious exploration, healthy eating and conscious living.

So share the load and encourage your friends to cook along with you to create beautiful communal tables in the garden this summer by signing up to my newsletter for exclusive access to a monthly menu including my personal recipes and the stories that inspired them together with notes on specialist ingredients and wine pairings.