Call me biased, but I reckon that the secret weapon the great chefs never mention is booze. They bang on about how they use only the freshest ingredients bought at 5am in sub-zero temperatures and they bend your ear about the late hours and boot-camp training in kitchens from hell. But they never say, oh I couldn’t do it without the booze. They couldn’t, though. I’m not talking about cook’s nips - the stuff they try not to get sloshed on when they’re stressed out in the kitch

If the sound of meat and milk sounds odd, remember that pork braised in milk has a impeccable pedigree from both Venice and southwest France, and the lamb and fennel combination is a winner. I’ve had teenagers claiming to hate fennel, then come back for more. You can use any cut of lamb, but the weight, trimmed of fat, needs to be at least 900g. That may not sound much for six people, but it’s a rich dish. Sometimes I buy boned, rolled neck joints and unroll them. A typical p