I’M back from a rather lavish weekend in London, celebrating my 40th birthday with friends and family.

Stinking cold apart, I had a whale of a time, was spoiled rotten and ate some terrific meals in some wonderful restaurants.

I thought I’d pass on a few recommendations to you, for the next time you visit the capital.

My first port of call was a new wine bar/bistro called Terroirs which is owned by one of our wine merchants, Les Caves De Pyrène. Our rep had arranged for a tasting and we drank several amazing and intriguing wines from all over Europe to accompany some impeccable food.

Brilliant charcuterie plates loaded with crumbly terrines, smooth rabbit rillettes and fine hams were followed by bowls of clams spiked with sherry and ham. Then came tender squid with fiery aioli and an amazing plate of Cantabrian anchovies to be eaten on crunchy dark toast with butter and shallots.

Main courses draw from fine rustic French cuisine, with cassoulet and chicken cooked with girolles and 40 cloves of garlic. A great cheeseboard, classic puds. A terrific start to the weekend.

My ‘proper’ birthday meal was with lots of good friends at one of my all-time favourite eateries, St John, about which I have already told you much. It is a very sparsely-decorated place, almost more like a refectory, but its lofty position in the San Pellegrino Top 10 World Restaurants list reflects their care and attention with even the most basic ingredient.

We started things with a choice of potted pork and rabbit or the famous bone-marrow and parsley salad. It was a truly heart-warming sight to see over a dozen very good friends chatting away, munching marrow toasts and sipping their wine. I was in heaven. For the main course, several massive pheasant pies were helped onto the table, alongside steaming bowls of mashed potato and iridescent spring greens. The scene, twinned with magnums of my favourite red wine, made the table look like a Harry Potter feast. We ate so well; the pie was magnificent. Puddings of spotted dick and custard or Eccles cake and cheese rounded things off nicely. Of all the places I’d recommend, St John’s is the one. It is so utterly perfect, I find it hard to summon the words. Go, have dinner, change your life.

The next day saw lunch with relatives at Racine, a classic French brasserie-restaurant just along from Harrods. The chef, Henry Harris, was a year ahead of me at Prue Leith’s School and his career has rocketed. Racine serves all the classics impeccably from fish soup and trimmings to rabbit and bacon with mustard and green beans. I had been set aside a cote de boeuf from O’Shea’s in Knightsbridge, currently one of the most feted butcher’s shops in the country. I shared it with my dad, a real steak fan. The beef was exceptional with classic pommes frites and tangy Béarnaise sauce, one of my ‘desert island’ dishes.

In the evening, I had a relatively quiet dinner with a couple of friends at The Ledbury in Notting Hill, where genius Aussie chef Brett Graham and his team produce exquisite, flawless modern dishes such as ash-baked celeriac, pigeon with liquorice and date and cardamom custard tart. It is a hidden gem, recently awarded its second Michelin star, with total justification. A great place for a special dinner.

And this week, back home, it’s lettuce and lukewarm tapwater if I’m to fit into my swimming trunks on holiday. I shall be away for a few weeks, but will return with my tales from the Caribbean in March.

Here’s today’s recipe – roast bone barrow with parsley salad.

The recipe: A classic and never off the menu at St John. Don’t be squeamish and do give this a go – it’s a delightful and tasty way of starting a meal, sparking conversation and engaging an appetite.

Ingredients:12 X 8cm pieces veal bone marrowA large bunch flatleaf parsley, washed and stems removed, then roughly chopped2 large ‘banana’ shallots, peeled and very finely sliced3-4 tbsps capersJuice of a lemonSplash of olive oilSalt and pepperA favourite loaf, sliced and ready to toast

Method:Dead easy, this. Roast the bones in a hot oven for about 20 minutes until the marrow is nicely juicy. Start toasting the bread. Toss the parsley with the shallots and capers and season gently with the lemon juice, a splash of olive oil and some S&P.To serve, scoop a little marrow onto your toasts, season with a little S&P, then top with a sprinkle of parsley salad. Munch away, keeping things lubricated with a decent red, or hearty white.