Who needs an excuse to eat chocolate? Certainly not Chloe Doutre-Roussel, the whippet-thin, charismatic chocolate buyer for Fortnum & Mason who consumes a pound a day. London Chocolate Week is 13-19 October, and from the website www.chocolateweek.co.uk you'll see you can pretty well eat your way round the town's top chocolatiers. This dedicated troupe have done the consumer a huge service by hiking up standards.

Chocolatiers participating are: Charbonnel et Walker (020 7491 0939);
The Chocolate Society (020 7259 9222);
Rococo (020 7352 5857);
L'Artisan du Chocolat (020 7824 8365), who are doing a chocolate made with honey from London hives;
Pierre Marcolini (020 7795 6611) and Fortnum & Mason (020 7734 8040). Chloe is running chocolate seminars on 15 October, 8 and 12 November at £35 per person (0845 300 1707). All do mail order. We also recommend Green & Black's (available nationwide) for their consistently high standards, plus new country chocolatier, Dore Valley Chocolates (01981 550834). And look out for the new Piccadilly branch of Robert Linxe's Maison du Chocolat.

Short orders Gordon Ramsay's Secrets is the big cookery book this month (Quadrille, £25) - a handsome book founded on his philosophy - the best fresh ingredients. Dishes are what you'd expect at his restaurants - pan-fried bream with celeriac veloutÀ, and a version of baked alaska requiring a blow-torch finish.

I loved Rose Elliot's vegetarian Fast, Fresh and Fabulous (BBC, £19.99) with quick after-work ideas, such as pasta with a watercress pesto, Thai beancakes made with cannellini beans; lots of tofu .

Tom Norrington-Davies was the founder of gastropubs with his work at the Eagle. Just Like Mother Used to Make It (Cassell, £20) is a collection of simple, filling grub - Sussex pie, good onion gravy plus jams and crumbles. And to coincide with Chocolate Week there's Sara Jayne Stanes' Chocolate: The Definitive Guide (Grub Street, £20).

Plan ahead by visiting the Spirit of Christmas Show at Olympia 6-9 November 2003 or in Manchester GMEX 28-30 November. There's a vast range of companies offering original gifts, gourmet food and wine; celebrity cookery demonstrations, Champagne bar, and plenty of treats from the Guild of Fine Food Retailers including a huge deli counter at Spirit of London, filled with hundreds of cheeses from around the world which were entered into the World Cheese Awards. We have 10 pairs of tickets to give away for each show. Email your address and daytime telephone number, stating which show you would like to attend, to spiritofchristmas@eco.co.uk by 26 October. Information: 0870 121 2525; These surprisingly modern- looking Apostle spoons were made in 1536 and are part of gorgeous Gothic Art for England 1400-1547 at the V&A until 18 January.

Visitors to the Lost Gardens of Heligan near St Austell in Cornwall should check out the handsome new Lobbs Farm Shop in the carpark. The three brothers who farm the neighbouring land are selling their own beef, lamb and vegetables plus wonderful local produce (01726 844411).