I spent a couple of weeks in Bordeaux and the Dordogne last August, on yet another field trip for what promises to be the best-researched retirement in modern history. In general one eats very well down in the south west. One of the greatest cakes in the world, on a par with the Portuguese pastel de nata in my humble opinion, is the. My first memorable meal was on .

Every now and then, I seem to suffer acute hunger pangs. Not simple hunger but the need for cooking and sharing food. Especially when I watch really good cookery programmes. There is a multitude of these any time of day or night and every day of the week. Sadly many of them do not have much to do with food. A few glorify kitchen violence while others promote overeating.