I'm writing to you from Margate this week with a bowl of strawberries and cream in arms reach. Before my Mum heads home to Sydney this week, we wanted to get out of London and see the English seaside. It's a town I've been to countless times before but as with so many people, places and things, witnessing something through someone else's eyes gives you a new perspective. The scent of vinegar on fish and chips, salty sea air and the waves washing over the shore are all such soothing things and even though it couldn't be further away from Australia, there are moments when being by the coast makes it feel like home.

We went straight from the train to Sargasso for freshly grilled sardines and soft serve ice cream topped with dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts before cooking chicken in lemon and capers for dinner. As we ate, we watched the England women's football team win the final and the surrounding streets erupt in cheers as roars and claps echoed from the nearby pubs. It's the sort of joy that's contagious and is just the good news I needed to start off a new exciting month. August has so much in store and I can't wait to share it with you. 

I hope you find the joy you're looking for this week,
  

Strawberries with Whipped Cream and Salted Almonds

• A punnet of ripe strawberries
• 200ml of whipping cream
• 1 tsp of icing sugar

• A handful of flaked almonds
• 1 heaped tsp of caster sugar
• A generous pinch of sea salt

Make sure your cream is really cold which will help it whip quicker. Pour it into a large mixing bowl and add the icing sugar. Whip it by hand or with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Put back into the fridge to chill once whipped. Pour the almonds over a sheet of parchment paper.

Sprinkle a fine layer of sugar on the bottom of a pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Don't touch it and let it start to caramelise and turn a deep auburn colour. Pour the caramel over the almonds and coat them evenly.

Sprinkle over the salt and leave to completely harden and then snap into shards. Pile the strawberries into a bowl, top with the cream and almonds and enjoy.

Jonathan Nunn has edited this beauty of a book, London Feeds Itself and I can't wait to read it. It has an amazing list of contributors and covers food culture in the city across 25 essays and 125 guides to London's best restaurants to truly see how people who live here eat. I adore the artwork throughout the book and each copy comes with a foldout map of London. It's available for pre-order now.