Life Was a Bowl of Cherries: Prue Leith's Final Meal

Iced cherries put the you-know-what on the proverbial cake for Prue Leith.The novelist, food writer and restaurateur goes out with a bang at a family barbecue with plenty of meat, wine and larks.I would have my last meal at my home in Oxfordshire. My husband [South African writer Rayne Kruger] wrote about China a lot and so when he decided to dig a pond in the garden he fashioned it after the willow pattern, with a bridge and a pagoda, both painted red.We often have a drink down there at sunset. My children played endlessly there when they were little, and now their kids do too. At the weekends there's always someone swimming or fishing. We also have an annual family sports day with ridiculous races on the lawn, including the underpants race.It would be spring, June, and I'd have an evening barbecue with my family. There'd be a starter of hot grilled mackerel fillets on a cold lentil salad with an onion and mango relish, then lamb steaks with garlic and rosemary, and grilled and charred potatoes, perhaps with a simple green salad.At barbecues, people just like to eat a lot of meat; it's extraordinary. They eat far more than they normally would at a dinner party. I'd rather go veggie for three weeks, then have a barbecue, than eat fancy dishes at every meal.We'd probably drink quite a lot. We'd start with champagne, then move on to an Italian red from Potentino in Tuscany " delicious. We might have beer, too. I attended a pork and beer-tasting dinner recently. I went reluctantly but ended up having the most wonderful evening. They served various craft beers in small glasses, pairing a different one with each of the five courses. Ever since, I've been buying craft beers wherever I go.For dessert I think I'd just have a big bowl of black cherries, sitting on ice-cubes. It's something we'd do on hot evenings at my restaurant years ago. The number of people who just had a handful and didn't bother with all that cream "...We'd finish with fireworks. My daughter got married not so long ago, and we had fireworks, with the pond in the background, and of course that was fantastic. So at the end, just before you drown me, or whatever it is that makes this my last meal, we'd have a big display.This would all have to happen by magic: the food, the fireworks. I don't want to slave away at this or have lots of people running around either.

Mackerel fillets with a lentil and mango salad

Serves 4
4 large mackerel fillets, boned but skin on
Olive oil
Salt and pepperFor the lentil salad
250 g cooked green lentils
Flesh of one small ripe mango, cut into tiny cubes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Salt and black pepper1 With a very sharp knife make two parallel slanting cuts through the skin, but not deep into the flesh, of the mackerel fillets. Brush with olive oil.2 Combine the salad ingredients and divide between four plates.3 Grill the mackerel fillets, skin side to the heat, until the skin is crisp and browning, either under a blazing grill, or on an oiled griddle plate if over a barbecue. Don't turn. When done, use a fish slice to lift them on top of the salad and eat at once. The contrast of hot and cold is great.