For me one of the best nations for comfort food is Germany. My father was in the RAF and as such, we moved around a lot whilst I was growing up. One of the places that hold some of my best memories is an RAF base in Northern Germany called Bruggen.  Sitting right on the Dutch border, the camp was a little island of England surrounded by Germany to one side, and the Netherlands to the other.  As a kid, it was fun to see my Mum juggling a purse for German Deutsche Marks and a purse for Dutch Guilders – yes, it was before the Euro!

German food to me is some of the ultimate comfort food.  When the craving gets real there are thankfully a number of places to go.  The German Gymnasium in London is one such place.  The weekend brunch allows you to sample some authentic German dishes and allows me to regress back to childhood.  The bottomless Prosecco offer also helps!

The two courses cover delights such as Leberknödelsuppe – a rich, truffle spiked, beef broth with calf liver dumplings, or a smoked salmon tartar with sharp cucumber relish and sour cream to cut through the richness of the fish.

It’s in the main courses where the memories flood back. 

The crispy Chicken Schnitzel with rich paprika source, sitting on a bed of fried potato slices.

The true flavour of Northern German comes from the Bratwurst sausages, spiced with marjoram, spinach and cheese, resting on a bed of smooth buttery potato puree and pickled Sauerkraut.

It may be a bit clichéd, but it was difficult to resist finishing the meal with a slice of Black Forest Gateaux – to share of course!