I have written two methods for cooking the rhubarb in this recipe, if you have the sous-vide tools, then give this recipe a go (see Chef’s Notes); it works for me every time, but if not, then the conventional method is just as good. The results are slightly different because with the conventional method the rhubarb may lose a bit of its shape if the heat is too fierce, but just use your commonsense with this one – I have given timings, but please keep a close eye on it. I am looking for a result of a cooked but almost candied rhubarb rather than a purée.

I have also used fresh sourdough breadcrumbs for these puddings. You could use normal wholewheat bread instead, but the sourdough gives these puddings their amazing light texture and wonderful nutty taste. Don’t be fooled by the title either, because these puddings are deliciously light and not heavy as one might expect.

Personally, I like goose and dislike turkey, so goose is my preference for Christmas day. For me, goose has to be cooked medium-rare as I don’t like well-done goose, which tastes of liver and the texture is off-putting. For this reason, I don’t buy a whole goose for roasting as the legs require a long roasting time to cook them well, whereas the breasts require less cooking and are best served medium-rare. One tip when cooking goose breasts is to ask your butcher to take the breasts off the bone for you, as this eliminates a lot of hassle and saves time too.

This recipe is fairly simple to make and delicious to eat. If you do have gadgets as I do, see the Chef’s Notes below for alternative instructions on how to cook the goose breasts in a water bath or sous-vide. The results are pretty similar.

I serve the roast breasts with braised white cabbage and pancetta. It’s tasty and doesn’t require too much preparation. It also means that when your guests arrive, all the work is done and you can sit back, relax and enjoy all the compliments that this recipe is sure to trigger.

Ginger is such a wonderful ingredient and is available in a lot of different ways. Ground, fresh root, pickled and preserved stem ginger. I like the fact that ginger helps with the digestion when used with ingredients such as a oily fish salmon; the ginger cleanses the pallet as it’s combined in the dish. I used ginger in this recipe to have a undertone and subtle taste rather than a taste that is obvious and ‘blow your head off”, the intentions are that all the flavours together make a delicious and tasty dish.

The salmon is also marinated/cured in a solution of salt, sugar and freshly grated ginger before it’s confit (slow cooked/poached in oil at 45 °C). Even though the salmon is cooked the colour does not change as it would when you poach it in water at a high temperature. The fish remains moist, succulent and packed with flavour.

I have combined haricot beans with this dish, half of which are turned into the most delicious puree including fresh ginger which gives it a delicate and wonderful taste. The other half are combined with celeriac and served as a little salad for the fish to sit on. If you do not make anything else from this recipe I highly recommended the haricot bean puree, it can be served with crudities as a pre-dinner snack with drinks.

This is a rich dish and I recommend it to be served as a starter or light lunch, serve all the components at room temperature for the best taste experience.

Making pastrami is a tried and tested old technique. There is nothing new or inventive in the method but I have taken the idea and applied it by using my modern equipment and voila! we have a pretty good looking tasty dish. It’s a time consuming process, first you must cure the meat in a spice blend for eight hours then it requires smoking and finally the woodpigeon pastrami is ready to serve.

Woodpigeons might be annoying this time of the year in the garden and freshly sown fields but they eat incredibly well with their rich, dark meat. It’s great to see that they are more regularly available and being sold at most farmers markets and quality butchers. Woodpigeon requires very little cooking and is well paired with other earthy flavours such as the curing spices of juniper berries, coriander seeds and pink peppercorns.

For me the perfect sandwich consists of good quality fresh bread, tasty meat and something crisp, fresh and complimentary. The watercress is the perfect leafy accompaniment to cut through the rich dark pigeon meat, along with the fresh crisp radishes, another seasonal best.

The pork belly is cooked for 8 hours and then crisp the skin under the grill. I served it with udon noodles.

The benefit of cooking eggs this way is the intensity of flavour that is provided. The egg white sets like a jelly without being rubbery and the yolks are perfectly liquid but cooked. The secret is that your eggs must be super fresh. I like to enjoy these eggs with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly baked crusty bread sticks for breakfast. Perfect!

I have used sous vide cooking method for this recipe. I cooked these duck legs in the water bath, if you do not have this facility you can confit the duck legs submerged in duck fat in the oven at 150°C for 3 hours until tender. The secret to the crispy duck skin is how you brown it once cooked, with both methods the duck legs needs to be crisp under the grill until golden brown before serving.

I am know amongst my friends for my speciality of confit shoulder of lamb which is then turned into a delicious shepherds pie or lamb lasagne. I cook the lamb shoulder submerged in duck/ goose fat cooked for 4 hours in the oven at 150°C then, flaked and turned into these mouthwatering dishes.