Capturing the long-lost tastes of childhood in my new recipes.

Every so often, a taste or aroma takes us back to a specific time and place, by igniting vivid, almost tangible, memories.

There are certain scents and flavours that linger forever in our hearts. For me, one such flavour is cardamom. Its warm, aromatic notes transport me back to the Middle East, where I spent a brief but significant portion of my childhood.

Cardamom is an important ingredient in Persian cooking. Known for its sweet aroma, it is used frequently in bastani (ice cream), pickles and preserves and shir berenj (rice pudding).

It is a warm spice with subtle lemony undertones that pairs beautifully with orange. It produces a marmalade that would be marvellous in a cake as well as on toast. Cardamom is also believed to soothe stomach pains and relieve acidity.

Another scent and flavour redolent of happy times for me is aniseed and its close relatives star anise, fennel and tarragon.

I discovered Pernod in my twenties, while working on campsites all over France. It was a time of great fun and early independence. Pernod’s sweet, herbal flavour was refreshing as well as alcoholic. While I sipped a glass of cloudy anisette in water, feeling terribly grown up, I couldn’t help being transported in my head to chewing liquorice root as a child, or devouring liquorice allsorts at my grandparents’ house.

Sweet fennel with its mild anise flavour perfectly complements the distinct zesty sour flavour of lime, and our lime and sweet fennel marmalade pairs wonderfully with blue cheese, as well as working so well on sourdough toast.

Another nostalgic spice for me is cinnamon, not least because I’m a sucker for a Christmas candle. The warm, sweet fragrance of cinnamon, combined nutmeg, clove and ginger, creating a cosy atmosphere that simply screams Christmas! I wanted to create a marmalade with this delightful blend, one that evokes warmth, nostalgia, and celebration. Festive Seville is my take on a traditional bitter orange marmalade made especially for Christmas. What better way to enjoy the compliments of the season?