Camembert and spinach filo pastry slices

Kick off the festivities with this delicious vegetarian starter from chef and TV presenter Rick Stein

- Graeme Green

When Rick Stein thinks back to his family Christmases as a child, growing up on a farm in the Cotswolds, it’s the cold that first springs to mind. “I guess it’s global warming, but in my early youth Christmases were definitely cold,” he chuckles. “I can remember a lot of white Christmases, a lot of snow and ice, and a lack of central heating in our house. I remember log fires.”

Even more memorable than the cold, though, was food and family. “Food was very much the main memory. We also went to church on Christmas morning, which felt quite special. We had a Christmas tree that was not decorated until Christmas Day because it had real candles on it.”

The chef, restaurateur, author and TV presenter is known for his popular foodie travel TV programmes for the BBC, which have taken him across the UK and around the world, from Italy to India, Greece to Vietnam. He also has a string of restaurants, including The Seafood Restaurant, a fish and chip shop, a bistro and a cooking school in Padstow, Cornwall, his main base. His latest cookbook,