Chestnuts.

Eating seasonally isn't a priveldged, elitist thing. Eating seasonally might mean that you walk around your suburb finding fruit hanging over peoples fences, or you grow your own produce, or you visit a market and buy things that have been grown locally. I'm sure that seasonal produce will give your body what it needs appropriate to the local conditions.

I have a real soft spot for chestnuts.  I've been roasting chestnuts in the studio this week and they've made me immeasurably happy. I remember eating them every winter with my mum, who probably imparted this passion on me. It's interesting how seasonal foods are good for producing memories; their regulated absence and seasonal specificity works on our senses and helps us to recall moments from other times. I find these memories aren't just nostalgic, but imbued with a whole lot of emotions mixed up together.

Chestnuts are usually ripe in late autumn and early winter. They are perfect for winter; roasted hot, they're a beautiful shape, have a golden colour and a gentle sweetness.

My advice for roasting;

- Using a knife, score each chestnut with a cross. This helps with peeling the chestnuts and also stops the nuts from exploding in the oven (a very powerful force, which used to scare the shit out of me as a kid).

- Roast chestnuts in a medium to low heat grill or oven for 25 minutes, give or take 5 minutes depending on the size of the chestnuts. A gentle heat is best, to avoid burning or drying them out (with a bit more attentiveness, you can also roast them on a fire if you have one going).

-Peel and eat them hot, the inner furry skin should come off easily if cooked well. Some chestnuts might be rotten, others will be heavenly. Take the good with the bad.

- A perfectly roasted, golden chestnut is a great achievement. Probably the greatest task a person might achieve in any given day.