John Williams

A war doesn't merely kill off a few thousand or a few hundred thousand young men. It kills off something in a people that can never be brought back.

Prime ministers and presidents have sat beneath these dazzling chandeliers, plotting the future of nations.

When the opportunity arose to study catering at college, I took it. At that time, being a chef was considered “girly”. Most of the lads at school would end up as fishermen, shipbuilders or down the mines. I was adamant. “I want to cook.”

If you have read this far, then I imagine you want to do the same – to cook! So I will leave you to get on with it, to flick through the pages for a dish that brightens your life today or tomorrow. Brightens your life as you make it, serve it and, of course, savour it.