Sweet, Whitecross Street, East London

One of the things I will miss about my place of work is the amazing market that takes place every day down on Whitecross St.

Stalls include a sensational falafel stand where they crush the freshly cooked balls of fried chickpeas before covering them in hummus, a hog roast, a wonderful pasta stand run by a charming Italian family and, my personal favourite, the sunny olive stall which serves a huge range of delicious fresh salad.

It is a bit of a local secret frequented by the local city boys from the square mile, charity girls from up on Old St. and the media companies which now inhabit trendy East London. It doesn't attract the attention or crowds that other markets such as Borough or Colombia Rd. do, and it is all the more charming for it.

A relatively new addition is the bakery Sweet which sells an exciting array of cakes, pastries and bread. It also serves soups, sandwiches and salads and a dangerously addictive lasagna.

Do visit if you're ever near, and while you're in the area check out the magazine stall which sells very slightly out of date magazines for about £1 a pop. I stock up on Paris Vogue, Tank and Pop and it totals about £3 a time!

Fish supper

While in Nantes my extended family and I squeezed into our cars and drove down to Hotel Le Fort de l'Ocean for lunch. This isn't just any hotel restaurant, rather the favourite restaurant of the surviving 3 generations of my mum's side of the family.

Set on the beautiful coastline of France, we dined on fish caught that day while watching the waves crash onto the shore beside us. I ate divine smoked salmon (my new found favourite), perfectly cooked sole meunière and the lightest souffle au citron I've ever tasted.

While there our dear family friends arrived from London to join us for the Christmas period. It was a wonderful 3 hour experience, improved all the more for the champagne and sancerre that we sipped on as we dined to celebrate our annual gathering.