Strawberries with Pimm's

Well done, Andy! It was a great day for British sport. Wimbledon and strawberries come hand in hand. Apparently over 28 thousand kilos of strawberries have been sold at Wimbledon this year. While we haven't watched the momentous win from the Royal Box or anywhere in the vicinity of the Centre Court, we have been indulging in a lovely summery dessert of strawberries and Pimm's. What could be more British?

Years ago, when I was a student at Canterbury, my local friends took me to the strawberry fields out of town. Apparently, that's where the Wimbledon strawberries came from, and as soon as the championship was over, the strawberries were left on the fields to rot as nobody picked them afterwards. Mind you, that was 20 years ago, and I don't know if that's still the case. These were truly the tastiest strawberries I have ever tried.

If you fancy an easy summer dessert for grown-ups, halve about 350g of strawberries, add 150g of blackberries, scatter a few fresh mint leaves and pour 100ml of Pimm's + juice of half a lime over the berries. Let them infuse for a few hours, stirring occasionally. Scatter a few lavender flowers before serving (optional).

How do you like to eat your strawberries? Plain, with cream? On Pavlova, shortbread or in scones?