When it comes to hosting, dinner or lunch menus should be thought out and not left until the day itself. I usually prepare things a few days in advance so there’s no last-minute rushing around, then you can relax and chat to your guests. You might, of course, need to order some ingredients, which in this case could well be the oxtail from your friendly local butcher (or online butcher). Then you know you have it to slow cook and pop in the fridge (and that goes for cooking the beetroot and cherry sauce, too). This way finishing dinner will involve minimum fuss. 

Beetroot salad with smoked anchovies and horseradish

This is one of my favourite simple starter combos. I get my anchovies from my friend Lewis’s boat in Plymouth and I cure and smoke them. Most of the UK-caught anchovies get sent to Spain and France, sadly. Unless you’re near Felicity’s Farm Shop in Morcombelake, Dorset, where I sell the ones I prepare, you can find some great canned anchovies online; the Nardin brand’s smoked anchovies are particularly good (you can buy them from Brindisa).