Darina Allen: London chef Jeremy Lee shows us how to make winter warmers like apple tarts

‘The simple truth, I’ve learned from a lifetime of cooking, is that good food is honed from fine ingredients’

I love a long weekend in London, it’s so easy to pop over from Cork Airport, no queues, no hassle. A chance to see a couple of exhibitions, maybe a play, stroll around several cool Farmers’ Markets and food shops, go to the theatre and do some yummy research on new openings and the current food scene. I love to check out the latest restaurants and caf é s but there’s one old favourite that I can’t resist returning to virtually every time I go to London – Quo Vadis in Dean Street in Soho. I love Jeremy Lee’s food and always hope that this charismatic, bespectacled chef will come bouncing into the dining room with his usual exuberant welcome and generosity of spirit.

Jeremy is one of those rare, seemingly egoless chefs whom everyone loves. In Jay Rayner's words, "one of those rare phenomena in the London food world – a chap everyone agrees is a good thing’"