Trout, pilchards, clams, pike, pigeon, crayfish.

July is the last hurrah before the hot weather starts limiting our options. There is still plenty of green out there; spinach, watercress, last of the asparagus, peas, French beans and broad beans (and many more). Get a small selection of anything green and make a simple summer veg risotto, a wonderful way of spotlighting this season. As it is getting quite hot, the ingredients for a lovely cooling gazpacho: cucumbers (now free of EEC rules on curves) tomatoes and garlic. Soft fruits abound and at this time less is more and eat them as snacks; apricots, blueberries, cherries, peaches and of course strawberries.

My last item for July is a wonderful example of foody snobbism; the pilchard. If I told you that the humble pilchard is a firm favourite on restaurant menus, you would think your little French chef had finally gone completely mad. But no, I am pretty sane. The pilchard you see is just a large sardine. In fact many dishes served as sardines are in fact pilchards. So turn that nose down and grill yourself some sardines.