• How about going retro and cooking up the ultimate prawn cocktail for the festive season or for any occasion. It’s so simple and really goes down well with everyone, it’s a sure fire hit like so many traditional recipes. Take a bag of Young’s frozen prawns and defrost. Mix some shredded lettuce with chopped spring onions, avocado, a little salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne and a squeeze of lime. Make a sauce by mixing together mayonnaise, ketchup, Tabasco, whiskey and a pinch of cayenne (adding a little more or less of everything to suit your taste). Stir most of the prawns in the cocktail sauce, layer the salad mix and then the prawn mix in five layers to the top and finish with a few juicy prawns. Doesn’t that make you want to eat one right now!

  • Perfect autumn supper, get your fishmonger (Neil is our fishmonger!) to fillet 2 mackerel. Brush the fillets with a little tagine mix (try www.thespicery.com), drizzle with olive oil and grill under a hot grill for 4 minutes each side until the skin bubbles. Serve with a crisp salad and a good squeeze of lime.

  • Simple impressive starter – take 2 scallops per person, loosen the scallop from the half shell but leave in the shell, add a teaspoon of garlic butter, some sea salt, a drizzle of white wine and a tablespoon of breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil and grill for 8 minutes. Serve in the half shell. Easy, tasty, impressive, what more do you need?

  • Make some garlic butter with butter, crushed garlic, sea salt and herbs, roll into a sausage shape, wrap in clingfilm and store in the freezer; just use a warmed knife to slice off what you need when you need it!

  • lemon sole – just pan fry a lemon sole fillet in butter for 4-5 mins either side, add a squeeze of lemon and some parsley and serve.

  • Need a cheap Friday night supper for family and friends? How about this, gently fry an onion and some garlic, crumble in a bird’s eye chilli and a bay leaf, add a splash of wine, add some cooked prawns and squeeze in a few tomatoes, then chuck in a handle of clams and mussels, cover and steam for a couple of minutes until they are all opened. Toss in spaghetti, drizzle with olive oil, season and serve.

  • Handy tip – when washing your hands after handling garlic and onions use cold water and soap – hot water opens the pores

  • Handy tip – before cooking mussels, give them a sharp tap on a surface, they should close their shells, if they don’t then discard them; once cooked they should all be open, if they’re not discard them.