‘The cookbook we all need right now’ The Tatler.

“Both this book and its companion ‘Recipes from Le Rouzet’, published in 2021, were written solely in order to raise money for two causes I have always supported: the very elderly and the disadvantaged youth.  The funds raised by ‘Recipes from Le Rouzet’ were distributed to a variety of charities across the country through Age Unlimited, the umbrella charity that Henrietta Nettlefold and I ran for many years. 

Although Age Unlimited has now been wound up, the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to projects helping both ends of the age spectrum but in a specific area – Suffolk.

Much of my childhood was spent in Suffolk and even now, when I am merely a visitor, it feels like coming home: the wonderfully coloured cottages, the picture book villages with their great medieval churches, the countryside so little changed since Constable’s time - they all have a particular place in my heart. 

In the winter, before we even opened our eyes, we would know from the sound of water birds, that the meadows in front of the house were flooded; in the summer, old-fashioned roses, with their wonderful scent, filled every corner of the garden. 

During the autumn, I would ride across the golden stubble fields, once fringed with great dark elms; I played the organ in the glorious church in Stoke by Nayland; Richard and I were married there and returned, with our sons and their wives for a service to celebrate our ruby anniversary – for all these reasons and more, every penny from the sale of this book will go to charities supporting the very elderly and the disadvantaged young people who live in this gently beautiful county.”

Photography by Daniel Callen