Indoor: The flavour of the knicker drawer

A taste of ... lavender from Norfolk, by Nikki Spencer

Lavender may be strongly associated with scenting clothes, but in fact it has also been used in cooking for hundreds of years - and is currently undergoing something of a revival. More and more chefs are using the pungent flower to flavour fish, lamb, sorbet and other foods, and this summer the New Covent Garden Soup Company is producing Potato, Leek and Lavender Soup for sale in grocery shops and supermarkets all over the country.

East Anglia is particularly suited to growing lavender because of its dry, light and sandy soil, according to Henry Head, managing director of the UK's largest commercial grower, Norfolk Lavender - although after the heavy rain last month he says that now he's not so sure. Dry weather from now until the end of July is the key to a good harvest. "I'd be very happy not to see another drop of rain," he says.

The family firm started growing lavender back in 1932, extracting oil for use in perfumery and drying flowers for pot pourri and - more recently - for culinary purposes. The tea room at the company's headquarters at Caley Mill in Heacham sells lavender scones, lavender tea and lavender ice-cream, as well as jars of lavender marmalade.

Up on the coast at Wells-next-the-Sea, a passionate advocate of lavender in cooking is Carla Phillips, who runs The Moorings restaurant with her husband Bernard.

"Anything you can use rosemary for is pretty good with lavender, only it has more strength and vigour," enthuses Carla. She puts dried lavender (or fresh, when it's available) into salt water to flavour steamed fish, and uses it as a marinade with lemon and garlic on loin of lamb. She also makes an aromatic oil with lavender, steeping a sprig in oil with garlic and salt and pepper, to use a few weeks later on salads, or with mashed potato.

However, Carla warns against getting carried away with the idea of lavender as an ingredient. "Lavender is quite powerful and I believe it works best when it is used subtly in savoury recipes. I think a sweet lavender sauce, for example, would be foul."

Lavender trails

l Norfolk Lavender, Caley Mill, Heacham (01485 570384) is open to the public, admission free, daily except Christmas Day. From mid-June to August you can see more than 100 acres of lavender in bloom by joining minibus tours of the fields (cost pounds 3.95). From mid-July you can also see the distilling process, whereby the lavender is made into oil. As well as the tea rooms, the 19th-century mill has a garden centre and a shop that sells dried lavender flowers for cooking. The company also runs a mail-order service (01507 466466).

l The Moorings, 6 Freeman Street, Wells-next-the-Sea (01328 710949) is open from Thursday to Monday. Owner and chef Carla Phillips has written a book in conjunction with Norfolk Lavender entitled Herbs from a Norfolk Kitchen - available for pounds 3 plus 85p p&p from Norfolk Lavender.

l Two other Norfolk restaurants that use lavender regularly are Congham Hall Hotel, Grimston, Kings Lynn (01485 600250), where the owner, Christine Forecast, grows more than 30 different varieties of lavender in her herb garden (open to the public daily 2pm-4pm, free); and Rococo, 11 Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn (01553 771483) where lavender and gin ice-cream is usually on the menu.

l The New Covent Garden Soup Company's Potato, Leek and Lavender Soup, made with fresh lavender flowers, will be available from 27 July to 9 August, price pounds 1.49 for a carton.

Nectar of the Aztecs: in our article on chocolate, published on 4 April, we mentioned the Musee du Cacao et du Chocolat. Please note that the exhibition building - at 13 Grand Place, B 1000 Brussels - is currently undergoing refurbishment and is not open to the public until 1 July.