'Christmas decorations are up and my house is lit with the twinkle of happiness from subtle fairy lights'

The Christmas tree stands proudly in the corner of my living room, and my house is lit up with the twinkle of happiness which comes from subtle fairy lights, all at the tail end of November.

My mood and cheer are immediately lifted. It seems like forever ago, almost too long to remember, that I could be found clattering, banging and giggling from the back kitchen of our wonderful Italian deli in Northampton, wearing my pinny and inappropriate footwear.

I would zoom to the shop in my little bright yellow MX5 that turns 20 years old next year, throw open my door with glee and, generally by accident every time, scrape the base of my driver’s door on the high residential pavements. I’d run into the deli with arms full of prepared food stacked high, while greeting a shop full of happy smiles.

The boot of my car would be crammed with coolboxes brimming with ingredients, olive oil gifts from my sponsors, Filippo Berio, to gift my diners: 18 diners, 18 antipasti, 18 primi, 18 secondi and 18 puds! Plus, extra for Adriana and me.

I have tripped up occasionally and Adriana, on more than one occasion over the past six years, has found me with my head in my hands whimpering “it won’t cook”, or “the oven has stopped working”, or “I set another tea towel on fire again!”

Thank goodness for friendship and teamwork and the fact we work comfortably from her delightful deli. I always have an array of ingredients to hand should I ever fall short, or have a non-meat eater, or particular allergy, turn up unannounced.

Covid has taken this away from us at the moment, as it has for much of hospitality.

For me, our supper club was my ‘going out’, my out out, my social evening, my escape.

Over the past eight months our waiting list has increased three-fold and I could not be more thankful for the continued support, from not only Adriana but also from our returning diners.

The December supper club is usually my favourite. Crackers on the table, festive napkins, traditional festive music and copious amounts of cheer.

Every summer I make a variety of flavoured homemade liqueurs. These are made to share over my two festive December supper clubs. To date, I’ve made fichi d’ India (prickly pear) liqueur, raspberrycello, limoncello and Frangelico, all truly scrumptious.

This year I have, for the first time, made Nocino, a walnut liqueur that is rich, deep, dense and a little bitter. For some reason, my Nocino tastes like the inside of a used tin, a metallic flavour is most definitely present and, for my palate, it’s not pleasing.

On a positive note, one friend said it tasted like an aged Amaro, so guess who’s getting that from Mrs Claus this year *wink*.

2021 will again bring its challenges, changes and restrictions, but rest assured, we will be present as soon as possible with our new menu ideas and joyful bonnie selves.

Adriana and I will be back as soon as we can.

In the meantime, the shop is still actively open with limited hours, so please stock up.