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Sweet pastry that crumbles in your mouth like shortbread. This is the pastry I use to make all our sweet tarts here at Le Tasting Room and it freezes like a dream.

Flowering is an important stage in the vineyard year. Vines further east have flowered and the fruit has set whereas here in Anjou, our vines are in full flower.

This is an unusual smoked chicken salad that can be adapted to use whatever vegetables are in season. Yesterday I used red peppers, sweet potato, aubergine, fennel, red onion and asparagus as they are all looking fantastic at the moment.

Many of you will have enjoyed confit of duck here at le tasting room. The ultimate comfort food, tender duck with super crispy skin, served either on a bed of duck fat roasted potatoes and rosemary or with lentils and smoky bacon.

Sometimes, as you near the end of a bottle of white or rosé wine there appears to be what looks like crystals of glass or sugar in the bottom. What is it and should I be worried?

Le Crottin de Chavignol is the most famous goat’s cheese from the Loire valley. It takes its name from Chavignol, a little village just a few kilometres from Sancerre where cheese has been made since the 16th century.

Egg whites freeze really well and it’s very useful to have them on hand. When I make a recipe that requires just the yolks, I pop the whites into a bag, note the number of whites and pop them in the freezer.

Yesterday, after a rather odd day when it was cool in the morning and really hot in the afternoon, the skies turned black around five o’clock and then suddenly, a violent storm accompanied by hailstones, battered the house and garden for about a quarter of an hour and then stopped, just as suddenly.

You can buy pastry in any French supermarket and I certainly don’t judge anyone for using it as it saves time, comes rolled and is ready to slide into a tin. But, it’s not quite as good as homemade. Probably because when I make my own I use rather large quantities of really good fresh butter

We often serve these lentils as a side to duck confit, roasted Toulouse sausages or griddled salmon. As time has gone by I have modified the recipe to make it easier and less time consuming. You can make them the day before and reheat gently when serving so they are great to do when you have people over.

Sometimes as you pour the last glass or two from a bottle of red wine you find sediment in your glass. Should you worry about that?  

There is a lot you can gather from just looking at a wine. Tip the glass at an angle of 45°C preferably against a white background and take a look. What can you see?