Put the pieces of rhubarb into a baking tray and scatter with the sugar. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes, or until tender, basting with the cooking liquid every so often. Leave to cool and serve with the warmed parkin and thick cream, or custard.Deep-fried spratsServes 4-6 I remember how, when I was a kid, at this time of year my father and his mates would wait on the beach in West Bay in Dorset with small rowing boats and Seine nets. They were expecting the huge shoals of sprats that used to come in so close to the shore they would occasionally wash themselves up on the beach. It seemed like a cult thing to do among locals to get a few beer vouchers for a good night out.Sprats are from the herring family and are the poor cousins of whitebait. They're about 6-7cm and generally need simple cooking, coated in milk and flour and deep fried.

You can leave the heads on or, if they're bigger, cut them off, run your finger down their stomachs and open them into butterfly shapes A fishmonger should be able to order them. Serve with tartare sauce, mayonnaise mixed with crushed garlic and parsley, or just lemon.600-800g sprats, prepared as above A cup of milk 100g flour Salt and cayenne pepper Oil for deep fryingPre-heat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep fat fryer. Season the flour well with the salt and cayenne pepper then coat the sprats well in the flour, shaking off any excess Put them briefly in the milk then back through the flour. Deep fry them in 2 or 3 batches for 3-4 minutes, or until golden and drain on kitchen paper.Bacon chop with laverbread and cocklesServes 4 Laverbread is one ingredient that is unique to Wales, and while I was there on the Gower coast, we stumbled by accident across a small-time producer of this nutritional seaweed pulp. We had checked out a couple of large-scale cockle and laverbread producers and on our way back, Horace, father of Richard Cook of the Severn and Wye Smokery, remembered a chap he had bought laverbread from a couple of years ago.

We found the house and went into his back garden, where he had just finished the boiling and mincing process of this locally gathered sea weed. He let me stick my finger into one of the stacked up trays of steaming laver. It was quite delicious and you could just taste the nutrients on the end of your finger.Laverbread is traditionally eaten with bacon and cockles for breakfast but can be served with grilled or steamed fish, or as a side dish, and is a perfect replacement for a nut cutlet for vegetarians.I've used a bacon chop here which can be cut from a piece of whole back. You could use thick slices cut from a side of streaky or back bacon. A good old-fashioned pork butcher will sell a piece of whole bacon joint to cut into chops, or you could settle for thick rashers of bacon.

Laverbread is sold fresh locally and in cans from specialist food halls. Depending on where you live you will find laverbread fresh, or canned. Try to buy the fresh if possible as there is a world of difference.4 thick bacon chops weighing about 120-150g each (on the bone they will be heavier) 200-250g laverbread A good knob of butter 350g fresh cockles (optional)If you are using cockles, leave them in a bowl of cold water, agitating them every so often with your hand to loosen any sand, then wash under clean running water for 5 minutes.Pre-heat a grill, or griddle and cook the bacon chops for 4-5 minutes on each side. Meanwhile put the laverbread in a pan with a knob of butter and gently reheat. If using cockles, put them into a large saucepan with a little water and a teaspoon of salt and cook on a high heat with a lid, shaking the pan every so often until they open, then drain in a colander.Spoon the laverbread on to a plate with the bacon chop and the cockles scattered over.. Australian wine is squaring up to French at every level. Last autumn it was given a boost from a most unexpected quarter - the American super-critic and self-styled "undeniable Francophile", Robert Parker.

"Australia has as much diversity in wine quality and styles as anywhere in the world, ranging from full-throttle, flamboyant, exuberant dry reds, to elegant, finesse-styled efforts with undeniable minerality," he declared. Parker's top 10 included some controversial, monster reds such as Clarendon Hills, Torbreck and Two Hands, all of which received marks even higher than most top 1996 Bordeaux crus class? For his pains Aussie critics had a go at him. He was compared to a big game hunter in search of trophy wines, rather than the more elegant styles such as Clare Valley riesling preferred by his accuser James Halliday and his co-judges in Australian wine shows. Yet although they're on different sides of the power-versus-finesse debate, Halliday ended his diatribe against power-mad Parker with a plea to Australia to promote its more sophisticated wines and turn its back on Yellow Tail. Australia has more than 100 grape varieties (33 of which are thought important enough to be mentioned individually in the annual harvest report). Its varied grape mix is not based on shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay alone. One in five whites is chardonnay, but sauvignon, viognier and pinot gris are staking a claim to be "the new chardonnay", with riesling and semillon also becoming more popular.