Every summer from the age of 11 to 18, my parents and I went on holiday to the Lot in Southwest France. I hadn’t been back there for almost 6 years until this summer, when I went to help out with the catering for the week-long singing holiday, Chanson Combard, that my mum organises and our friend Krista holds in her barn. Inevitably, this trip became a long and evocative walk down memory lane, and one stormy night, watching the lightning approach from the horizon, I, my mum and Krista reminisced about our most favourite restaurant in the area, the Unicorn.

The Unicorn was a single-room restaurant in an old building on the side of a busy road. The interior had probably not been altered since the sixties or even earlier – the wallpaper was stained with decades of cigarette smoke, and mice and cockroach sightings were not unknown. The old couple who ran it (Madame and Monsieur) were delightful, but if you peeped into the miniscule kitchen you got something of a shock hygiene-wise. One wall of the dining room was flush with the roadside, so you were serenaded by the sound of trucks roaring past as you ate.

None of this mattered in the slightest however, because the food was absolutely incredible. For nine and a half Francs, you got five courses – salad, a starter, a main, cheese, and dessert – and all of the most fabulous rustic French cooking.

The portions alone made the Unicorn amazingly good value – they were enormous. Piles of fresh prawns, stewed in Ricard, reached almost level with one’s nose; the duck baked with prunes in an earthen-ware pot was so huge it was nicknamed ‘Bucket o' Duck’; and the cheese course was encyclopaedic. The food was so copious and delicious, in fact, that my father would go on little walks between courses to recover and build up his appetite for the next onslaught.

We ate countless times at The Unicorn, and even though the menu hardly ever changed we never got bored, and came back year after year. I can remember the food there better than any other restaurant we ever ate at in the Lot – perhaps just because the menu stayed the same, but perhaps also because it was so unbelievably tasty.

When I was about 17 or so, we heard that The Unicorn had closed down, due to the death of Madame. Since then, every trip to the Lot has felt incomplete in some way, lacking in excess and indulgence. So, in honour of The Unicorn, in honour of over-eating and in honour of immoderation, I offer you the menu of this year’s Chanson Combard; not quite as luxurious as the Unicorn's, but still in the same vein nevertheless. Bon appetite!

Sunday
Dinner: Melon and grapes with vinaigrette; Roasted Vegetable Lasagne and Salads; Chocolate Tart.

Monday
Lunch: Courgette Bake and Falafel
Dinner: Tomato and Mozzarella Salad; Homemade Pizzas and Salad; White Chocolate Cheesecake.

Tuesday
Lunch: Provencal Pancakes and Potato and Tomato Bake.
Afternoon Treat: Chocolate Brownies
Dinner: Lentil Casserole with Raita; Spinach Pie and Salad; Pain-au-chocolat Pudding with Hot Fudge Sauce and Ice-cream.

Wednesday
Lunch: Stuffed Aubergines
Dinner: Caramelised Onion Tart; Courgette Bake, Olive Bread; Cheesecake and Chocolate Tart.

Thursday
Lunch: Lentil Bake and Chinese Aubergines
Afternoon Treat: Chocolate Fudge
Dinner: Bruchetta; Pasta with Tomato, Goat’s Cheese and Salads; Peach Clafoutis.

Friday
Lunch: Caramelised Onion Tart; Pasta Bake; Couscous Salad.
Afternoon Treat: Banana Bread
Dinner: Stuffed and Roasted Red Peppers; Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne; Charlotte Aux Fruites.