‘There’s something about the smell of cinnamon that just says Christmas. I always put lots in my mulled wine, and there’s nothing like that lovely aroma you get from a pan of it simmering away on the stove. Sometimes I mull port instead, with cinnamon sticks, a clove-studded orange and the juice of a couple of oranges and a lemon. For the kids, I make mulled apple juice, an idea I got in New England, where they call it mulled cider.
The other thing I love about cinnamon sticks is that they look so pretty. Every year, I spend a Sunday decorating, and I’ll tie little bundles of cinnamon sticks with ribbon to put on the wreath for the door. I’m not at all the Martha Stewart type the rest of the year, but there’s something about Christmas that makes me want to be. I spend the day covered in pine needles and being pricked by the holly, but I absolutely love it.
By the time Boxing Day’s over, I’m a bit fed up with English food and am craving something different, so I’ll use my cinnamon in a dish with a Middle Eastern flavour. I like to make a filo pastry pie, filled with minced lamb, mixed with cinnamon, raisins and pine nuts. It’s still festive, but it’s a lovely change after all that turkey.’