We wanted a cerebral element in The London Restaurant festival and Professor Simon Schama’s inaugural lecture which took place yesterday morning at Kings Place provided that and more.

His talk entitled Mouthing off : Eating and Utterance, which he delivered self- confessedly jet-lagged but fizzing with energy, insight and humour took the  brains of the audience on a whirlwind tour of the language of food. There was a  much appreciated  flattering assumption on the behalf of Professor Schama of a parity of reading and experience.

Several people said to me afterwards that it was so exhilarating to find the opposite of dumbing down. “My mind has been stirred with a big wooden spoon. I’m off home to find and read the books of M.F.K. Fisher”, said a friend of mine as she left.

John Nugent of Green and Fortune, the caterers at Kings Place, laid on a terrific brunch with fruit kebabs and muesli for the health conscious and bacon butties for the rest of us before the talk. And many in the audience went afterwards for lunch to the Rotunda Restaurant on the ground floor overlooking Battlebridge Basin, which was taking part in the Festival’s Big Roast celebration. Having their own farm in Northamptonshire supplying the beef and lamb, they are perfectly poised to produce a great traditional Sunday lunch.