Pulses, dried beans and peas are a crucial part of my larder – you never know when you may need a little inspiration to add to a stew or to knock up a sauce or dressing. I normally have a dozen or so different types that I randomly collect from delis and around the world on my travels, so I'm not short on ideas. Anything from a humble split pea to a black Beluga lentil can inspire a dish when you find yourself scratching round for ideas.

Few domestic metal objects carry more precarious symbolism for the British than cutlery. Employing the wrong edge of the spoon to drink your soup, holding your knife like a fountain pen, putting a knife in your mouth, shovelling peas onto your fork – these are gaffes that consign you to social perdition, as surely as drinking tea out of the saucer. Adopting the American habit of using only a fork to eat your meal, however, represents a revolution in table manners that's both seismic and deeply unwelcome.

Spring is the season to get really generous with those newly planted or reappearing vibrant green herbs. Historically they were grown and used for their medicinal properties but these days many people misuse herbs, scattering them over food, just for a bit of visual colour. I too have been guilty in my younger days of garnishing dishes with sprigs of mint and chervil and discovered that they blew off the plate when they went through the vortex of the kitchen swing door. Now, of course, I appreciate the way they enhance certain dishes. I've recently planted out a new herb and salad plot at our home in Charmouth, Dorset, and have really stuck to the stuff I'm going to use, although I don't know how they are going to fair up in those salty sea winds.