Survive the drive!

This time of year invariably means a car journey or two to see family and friends – but if you’re tasked with bringing food, getting it there intact can be daunting. Fear not! Our guide will have you singing that Chris Rea song in the car, knowing your dish is as secure as a bubble-wrapped safe wearing a high-vis jacket

It’s happened to us. You’ve made a beautiful cake, two sponges delicately sandwiched together with piped buttercream, painstakingly decorated with precision, only for it to get smooshed into the side of its box when you go a little too fast taking the third exit on a roundabout. Domestic food logistics might not be the most glamorous of topics, but at Christmas – when we’d wager more homemade dishes get driven to other houses than at any other time of year – it’s a serious business.

With forward planning, however, and a focus on how to pack your precious cargo, the likes of victoria sponges or carefully curated cheeseboards can withstand even the roundabout gauntlet of Milton Keynes or the up-and-down backroads of rural Lancashire. Laugh in the face of Sussex’s potholes, take Cornish sharp turns with confidence, go off-road (within reason) with gusto – our guide will get you and your dish to your destination without so much as a drop of spilt milk to cry over.