Last night we went up to Anne-Marie and Paul’s place for a raclette. Much like its cousin the fondue, raclette is peasant food involving melted cheese. Needless to say, our modern version is a bit more sophisticated.

As well as slices of cheese, the essential components of a modern raclette are small boiled potatoes and dried or cured meat. Anne-Marie also prepared some roast vegetables and a nice salad.

The slices of cheese are placed in a small metal tray, which sits on top of a burner. While the cheese melts in the tray, spices or herbs can be added. The melted cheese is then scraped off onto your plate to be eaten along with everything else.

The burners that melt the cheese are powered by nothing more than a couple of tea-light candles, so the cheese takes a while to melt. This is the very essence of a raclette evening – the meal can go on for hours – it’s a very social event. Later on, Anne-Marie found something to go in Val’s hair.

Today we have blue skies and very low temperatures. Icicles on the Wisteria beneath our terrace.

Emily is cooking tonight.