Observing Liturgical Rhythm

‘Surely this recipe could be made simpler. The constant heating, cooling and reheating especially makes no sense with coddled eggs’ commented a reader. He was right. The original recipe called for seven different pans. I have cut it down to four, which still seems a lot for a simple peasant dish but there you go: good cooking can be a long and messy business.

At Lent, I climb once again on to my wagon and abstain from alcohol. At Le Café Anglais we run a special menu that follows the path of virtue and features the burgeoning roots, shoots and leaves of the season, and we try to eschew fats and carbohydrates. If I tell people that I adhere to some form of Lenten abstention I am generally asked if I am a Christian or, more particularly, a Roman Catholic. I am, in fact, an unbaptised heathen, but I like to observe the liturgical rhythm of the seasons because they make sense. After all, no one questions our sense of religion when we tell them that we intend to celebrate Christmas or if we want a leg of lamb on Easter Sunday.