To find an organic box scheme in your area use the Times Organic Box Finder

Jeremy Lee, the warm, witty, Scottish head chef at Blueprint Café, is an unsung hero of the London restaurant scene. Respected by his peers, but little known outside the business, he was one of the early pioneers of what is now the vogueish use of locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. One of the key signatures of his cooking style is to revisit British food classics, such as steamed pudding, or much-maligned ingredients, such as cabbage, and turn them into a masterclass in good taste, without endless faffing or even breaking a sweat. Try some of his recipes and you will become a convert.

Blueprint Café, Design Museum, Shad Thames, SE1; 020 7378 7031, www.blueprintcafe.co.uk

SEASON'S EATINGS

Mackerel is plump and luscious through the autumn and winter. Grilled fillets taste amazing, especially if you lightly salt the flesh side and leave for 20 minutes prior to cooking. Simply rinse, dry and grill, then serve with lemon wedges and a salad.

Brill is much-loved by chefs who pan-fry or grill its firm-textured skinned fillets from June to February. Try serving with beurre blanc, or some soft butter beaten with thyme, lemon zest and juice. Best of all, serve with chips.

Wild duck is in season. Mallards are most commonly sold, although you can find smaller teal. Both respond best to simple roasting with a halved orange and some thyme in the cavity. Serve with homemade elderberry jelly melted in the pan juices, with a hint of wine and orange.

Pheasant sold in supermarkets tends to be very lightly hung, so it will appeal to the game shy. Merchants sell a longer-hung, richer-flavoured bird. Both are good roasted, accompanied by bread sauce or rowanberry jelly. Diced pheasant breasts are perfect for pies, particularly when mixed with wild mushrooms and bacon.

Vacherin Montd’Or is a chic après-ski cheese that is only ready to eat at the end of October. It comes from the Haut-Doubs region in France and is excellent as an instant fondue. Preheat the oven to 180C/ 360F/Gas Mark 4. Wrap the boxed cheese in foil and bake for 20 minutes. Unwrap, remove the lid, cut open the cheese and swirl in some sauvignon blanc. Dip at will.

Beetroot is sweet and full of flavour right now, making it perfect for winter soups, especially when combined with apple and dressed with sour cream and dill. You can also boil or roast them whole to make a delicious salad with walnut oil and chives.

Celeriach as a delicate, celery-like flavour that makes a tasty mash when puréed with an equal quantity of mashed potato and flavoured with lots of butter, sautéed onion and milk. This is particularly good served with beef or venison.

Pumpkins are mainly grown for Hallowe’en these days, so they tend to have very little flesh. Nevertheless, they make an excellent soup, flavoured with a hint of sage and parmesan, or the most delicate custard pumpkin pies – mix the puréed flesh with cream, eggs, sugar and seasoning of your choice, such as ginger or nutmeg.

Quince has an astringent but very fragrant flesh, which has to be peeled, cored and cooked. It tastes fantastic, especially with either apples or pears in a pie. Try quince fool or quince snow – the latter is fool fluffed up with whisked egg white.

For the best local produce in your area visit the Times Real Food Directory

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