GREENHITHE chef Martin McNair knows food. He has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants, five-star hotels and cooked on tour for The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.

Now he runs his own catering firm, A Question of Thyme.

Here are his seasonal summer cooking tips for November:

With it being a bit nippy out there, we start to turn to more hearty flavours in our meals and November brings us some accommodating produce.

Squashes and pumpkins are robust in texture and are perfect for casseroles and curries.

Butternut squash in particular tastes fantastic when roasted with cinnamon and chilli, and a pumpkin puree flavoured with smoked paprika makes a great base for a vegetarian goulash.

Kohlrabi is an underused vegetable but well worth seeking out if you have never tried it.

This bulb can be eaten raw, as in a slaw with apples and cobnuts.  I like to make fritters from them, grate it, and mix it with eggs, a little flour, some parmesan then fry gently on both sides.

Apples and pears (cor blimey guv) have a myriad of varieties, but the best for cooking at the moment are Russet and Bramley for apples and Comice and Williams for Pears.

The game season is in full swing and although venison is available throughout the year if you fancy something a bit different try traditional recipes of grouse, pheasant or partridge.

Fish-wise it is well worth seeking out fresh crab at the moment. Versatile and tasty, it is great in pasta dishes, made into crab cakes or for a spicy supper.

Try the devilled crab rarebit recipe which can be found here.