What will this period of austerity mean for the new-year diet? I don’t remember calorie-counting being part of the Dunkirk spirit. The rise of the stew and the triumph of the onion evoke country heartiness rather than urban jogging. Sushi and smoothies smack of fallen Notting Hill. Even the Charles Saatchi egg diet looks picky in a recession.

Anyway, the new year diet is unseasonal as well as culturally confusing. Who feels like salad when it is dark and cold? And if we are to stay at home rather than go out spending money, why deny ourselves the pleasure of baking?