He said: "There are only so many ways to roast a piece of veal shoulder.

Note: Most butchers sell veal shoulder for stew.

It features a bouillon of forest mushrooms, braised veal shoulder with winter roots and forest mushrooms, and curried monkfish with nightshade and pumpkin confit.

Rub the veal shoulder on both sides with salt and pepper.

Unroll the veal shoulder.

The last such dinner included veal shoulder, Caesar salad, corn soufflé, blueberry corn muffins and asparagus cooked with olive oil and soy sauce.

Roasts that must be tender but not served rare, such as rolled veal shoulder or neck, pork loin or rump of beef are suitable.

There are lots of delightful pâtés and rillettes to start off with - guinea hen with dates, duck with mushrooms, haddock and lemon - followed by well-prepared standards like stuffed veal shoulder.

Recommended dishes: Warm salad, Roquefort in flaky pastry, saute of mushrooms, angel-hair pasta, salmon ravioli, tortellini with porcini mushrooms, all salads, all soups, breast of goose, veal shoulder, chicken breast, steak with peppercorns, filet mignon, calf's liver, all desserts.

Among the meat selections are roast suckling pig, veal shoulder stuffed with sweetbread and spinach, ragout of oxtail and braised veal shanks.