We went to Maine for the wedding of two of our favourite people, Alexis & Andrew. I met Alexis a couple of years ago when we shared a cottage and a life-changing cooking adventure at Ballymaloe Cookery School. We’ve both changed our lives and careers a lot since then, mostly for the better I think.

On our recent trip to Mexico, the birthplace of chocolate, it was only natural (and fair) that we replaced our morning tea with a mug of hot chocolate. Chocolate originated in Mesoamerica, and archaeological evidence shows that people were drinking chocolate in Mexico as early as 1900 BC. The Mayan and Aztec people called it xocolatl, the basis for the modern word for chocolate in most languages. Xocolatl reputedly means ‘bitter water’ in Nathuatl, the language of the ancient Aztecs, and if you have ever had the opportunity to drink freshly ground chocolate, without sugar added, you will understand why.

We were in search of some Autumn sunshine and a few days of rest and relaxation after a rather crazy few months selling our house in London, moving to Northern Ireland, house hunting, setting up The Edible Flower and doing our first few events. It’s all been brilliant but it’s been tiring too, and we really felt we needed a change of scenery before the next big push.