You might remember all the hoo-ha about Chilean cherries at the end of last year. They had travelled halfway round the world just to brighten our winter tables. The real shame of it — food miles aside — was that they left us nothing to look forward to. Cherries are summer fruit, their lascivious ripeness a cohort to sunshine and lazy days. Eating them when freezing rain is lashing against the windows isn’t quite the same.

Now, though, with the British and European cherry seasons in full swing, it seems silly not to guzzle as many of the things as we possibly can. This country no longer produces enough to go round (a staggering 95% are imported), although there are moves afoot to put British cherries back on the map. CherryAid, launched this year by Henrietta Green, doyenne of food champions and founder of foodloversbritain.com, wants to revitalise the industry.

“We’ve lost 90% of our cherry orchards in the past 50 years,” she says. “We want to make sure that the old-fashioned orchards aren’t grubbed up and encourage the planting of new ones.” She deserves our support — after all, she is giving everyone the chance of at least one bite of a home-grown cherry.

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* Visit Henrietta Green’s site (foodloversbritain.com ) for details of growers who sell direct. Keep an eye out for the old varieties, which have some splendid names — Bradbourne Blacks, Frogmore Earlies, Napoleons, Kent Bigarreaus, Elton Hearts — not to mention a bittersweet symphony of flavours. This year, you’ll also find British cherries on the high street — M&S and Sainsbury’s are selling them while the season lasts.

* A note on pitting: removing cherry stones takes a while, but not an age. There’s a useful olive-pitting bit on my garlic press that seems to remove the stones without much difficulty. Otherwise remove the stalks, make a broad slit in the side, and flick out the stone with your finger or the point of a knife.

* Chocolate and cherries are a match made in heaven (or the Black Forest). Break 100g of dark (70% cocoa) chocolate into squares and put in a heatproof bowl. Heat 250ml double cream to just below boiling point and pour over the chocolate. Stir until combined and smooth. Dip the cherries into the chocolate sauce and nibble.

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Irish foodies rejoice. Richard Corrigan opens a Dublin branch of his restaurant, Bentley's, next week. They won't know what's hit them.

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