As part of my work for the local authority, I am frequently invited into schools to observe pupils who are learning English as an additional language. As an advisory teacher, joining a lesson is part of my job that I really enjoy and this week I was lucky to be present during an English and a history lesson. It was a coincidence that both lessons required the pupils to write recipes. The English class were studying the three witches scene in Macbeth, and using the second witch’s speech as a model, they created their own cauldron recipes. In the history lesson, the students were learning about the plague and were asked to invent a potion to cure the disease. As you can imagine, some gruesome recipes were produced but it did start me wondering about using food as a stimulus for writing a short story or a piece of flash fiction.
In Dorchester we have a Michelin star restaurant called Sienna and it’s within walking distance from my house. As a special treat I was taken there on Friday and I’ve inserted photos of my lunch for anyone who would like to take up the challenge of writing a story around a three course meal.
starter
Slow-cooked pork belly and apple terrine with sweet onion relish and crispy prosciutto.
main course
Roast fillet of Cornish hake with bourguignon sauce and parsley dumplings.
dessert
Saffron-poached pear with pistachio and marzipan cake, honeycomb ice cream.
I needed an afternoon nap after that lot! Let me know how you get on if you decide to take up the three course challenge.
the writer is a lonely hunter 
All delicious. It is such fun reading the things kids write for recipient spells and cures. Your photos are really good too. I am hungry.
It was a delicious lunch!
I often include food in my writing – wonder if that means I can claim the tax back on dinners out?
Give it a try and let us know how you get on!