last weekend i had the pleasure of showing a couple of new friends, cheryl and lee from san francisco, some of london’s foodie sights. this was the prize i contributed to the menu for hope raffle that took place last december and which raised nearly $60,000.

as well as sharing a sausage roll from the ginger pig, after we finished exploring the food stalls at marylebone farmers’ market, one of my favourite purchases of the day were these fantastically smoky oak-roasted cherry tomatoes from the isle of wight tomatoes company (which was subject to some controversy recently when it was discovered that they don’t just stock their own home-grown produce).

both the tomatoes and the oil which they come in, have a fabulously deep, sweet, smoked flavour and i’m looking forward to trying them out in various dishes over the coming weeks. but i’m also a little nervous as they are so intensely flavoured. if anyone has any tips about using them let me know.