‘“We could have a party,” Jacob suggested, passing through with an English muffin and scrambled eggs for Carrie. “You forgot to eat breakfast again,” he said, handing it to her. For all that she was supposed to be their boss, Carrie was starting to think she was really just there to be looked after.’

Room for Love, Sophie Pembroke

Jacob, the Avalon Inn’s chef, likes to keep its inhabitants well fed. Here’s the recipe for his sinfully good breakfast dish.

Too Good To Be Bad For You Scrambled Eggs

• Take two eggs per person. Beat them with a little salt, pepper – and a dollop of double cream.
• Heat a knob of butter in a small frying pan. Once melted and covering the whole bottom of the pan, tip in the eggs.
• Let them start to set on the bottom before you start to push them about and scramble them.
• As soon as they’re just set, tip them onto a hot, buttered English muffin.
• Serve to your overly stressed boss who forgot to eat breakfast again.

And his famous Welsh Lamb…

Ingredients:

• leg of lamb weighing 2.5kg/5lb 8oz
• 1 garlic bulb
• 1 bunch rosemary
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 onion, cut into quarters
• 1 healthy sized glass of red wine
• 1.2l beef or lamb stock

Method:

1.The first job is to stud the lamb with garlic and rosemary. Use a sharp pointed knife, make at least 30 small incisions all over the meat. Peel 4 garlic cloves, thinly slice them and prod a slice into each incision. Next, pull off small sprigs of rosemary and push into the incisions,too. If done in advance, cover the lamb well and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 1 hr before roasting.

2. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat a large frying pan, add a little oil and brown the lamb all over. Scatter the carrot, onion, remaining garlic and rosemary in a large roasting tin, pour in the wine and stock, then place the browned lamb in the tin.

3. Roast for about 1 hr 45 mins. Turn the lamb halfway through so by the time it’s cooked, each side has been in the stock. When cooked, remove the lamb and allow to rest in a warm place covered in foil for about 30 mins.

4. While the lamb is resting, make the gravy. Pour all the stock from the tin through a sieve into a saucepan to remove all the vegetables and herbs. This stock should be rich, slightly thick and have a great lamb flavour. Reduce it a little on the hob if you feel you want to concentrate the flavour, skimming off any fat that comes to the surface. Serve the lamb with the gravy and other bits and bobs to rapturous applause.