Imagine Leonardo da Vinci sketching a Tuscan hillside vineyard cicadas humming in the gentle summer breeze

Imagine Leonardo da Vinci sketching a Tuscan hillside vineyard, cicadas humming in the gentle summer breeze. If you stood on the same spot today, you'd have every reason to believe that chianti was as timeless a wine as its arresting surroundings But something went badly awry. Remember the bulbous, raffia-clad chianti bottle, or fiasco, as its Italian name aptly sums it up? This unlikely style icon of every trattoria table in the country was a fitting symbol of just how far chianti's reputation had fallen in the Sixties and Seventies. When the sharecroppers and their families left the Tuscan countryside for the cities to tap into Italy's economic resurgence, the traditional system of polyculture, cultura promiscua, was abandoned. To meet the demands of growing wine consumption, vineyards were hurriedly planted with inferior grapes. The legacy of this shortsighted greed was plonk, and with it came a downmarket image. As Count Piero Antinori, one of Tuscany's leading producers, admits, "Chianti classico still suffers from that hurried period of re-planting in the Sixties." He was one of the first to try to improve chianti by introducing international grapes such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot.

Finally, add the date pur?and mix well.Spread the mixture in the baking tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the sponge is firm to the touch Remove from the oven, but do not turn the oven off. Once the sponge is cool, take it out of the tin and trim the edges and top to make it neat. Continue to boil until it is golden brown (about 8-10 minutes, or even longer). Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool a little. Add the banana if required and then whisk in the remaining cream.Make the sponge in a food processor, mixer or by hand Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs slowly, taking care that the mixture does not separate.

(If this does happen, add a little of the flour and continue mixing for a minute or so.) Then fold in the flour gently with a large metal spoon until thoroughly mixed. Bring to the boil, stirring with a wooden spoon, ensuring you don't miss out the sides of the pan. If it's too thick, add a little more water.Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 (fan oven 160C). Butter a baking dish or rectangular cake tin, approximately 15x12x6cm, and line with greaseproof paper.To make the toffee sauce, pour half the cream and all of the rest of the ingredients into a heavy-based pan Mix well. Firstly, it's got to be really gooey; for that you need plenty of sauce between the layers so that it soaks through to give the desired effect. Cook the squid for 2-3 minutes on each side only, then serve with a pile of the rocket, a spoonful of the salsa and the bacon on top.Sticky toffee pudding Serves 4-6 Many eateries claim to have invented this pudding, and its success lies in the preparation.

Twelve years ago, we turned it into a banana sticky toffee pudding by replacing the dates with bananas.150g stoned dates 60g unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more to grease 175g soft dark brown sugar 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 220g self-raising flourIce cream, sour cream or cr? fra?e, to serveFor the toffee sauce600ml double cream 350g caster sugar 90g unsalted butter half a finely diced banana (optional)First prepare a date pur? Simmer the dates in 250ml water over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until they are soft and the water has almost evaporated Blend in a liquidiser until smooth Leave to cool. Make a vertical cut down the centre of the squid and open it out flat. Season the squid and tentacles with salt and pepper and lightly oil Meanwhile grill the bacon until crisp. Season and put to one side.Pre-heat a barbecue, griddle or cast-iron frying pan. When it comes to sport, they cannot be said to inhabit the same universe Not even parallel ones. Colchester made them pay from their next attack, with Jamie Cureton firing in a drive which was only parried by Lewis Price, and Duguid, under pressure, side-footed the loose ball home.The Ipswich striker Alan Lee came close to levelling matters as half-time approached. The Republic of Ireland international met a headed-on Currie cross at the far post but could only send the ball across the goal.There was controversy at the start of the second half when Macken thought he had equalised Lee fired in a shot which was saved by Davison.