There is something wonderful about spending an entire day cooking. I love the idle chatter and ease of focused company. Although I spent most of my time setting the table, I enjoyed watching the arrival of boxes filled with burrata, tomatoes, fava beans, basil, home made bread that took days to make, olive oil, mint, carpaccio and Tonio's families grain sieves and linens. The day unfolded into a painterly scene, a still life of colours and textures, followed by the robust aromas of Puglian cooking.

These kinds of days require a lot of planning, a lot of help and a lot of knowledge. Even though there is tremendous work involved, there is something very rewarding to hear the din of people enjoying themselves late into the evening. I couldn't ask for better days than this.

Thank you to everyone who came out, coats and all and special thanks to the crew,

Tonio, Jennifer, Kelly (whose outfits were incredible)Tom, Daniel, Sheila, Ehrin, Alistair, Nino, Pascal and Klee.

I wish we could do this everyday!

photographs| Klee Larsen