The Spanish Siberia is a 3-hour drive southwest of Madrid, home to the fabulous food of Esparragosa de Lares, is a small village surrounded by hills and rocky outcrops. It is famous for its asparagus, which grows wild in the autumn and winter months when the rains come. Three varieties of asparagus grow wild in the Esparragosa de Lares region, green, purple and white, and are delicious. A local cook made me a packed lunch with the preserved white variety, which was the sweetest I have ever eaten.

It’s been a couple of years now since I visited Isle of Wight Tomatoes, and I was really pleased that we had the chance to go back and film again. The array of colours, shapes and flavours was a joy to see, and I could not wait to cook a couple of recipes using these wonderful fruits.

I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do what I love every day and to inspire others to do the same. So please join me, if you can at one of my upcoming events.

Scrantastic is an exciting programme of cooking demonstrations. In our demo kitchen from celebrity chefs Rosemary Shrager, Phil Vickery and Laura Adlington as well as family foodie fun with CBBC’s Gastronaut.