Top Gear had The Stig - a nameless chap in white who did the test drives. I have Mrs Higgs - a loyal friend, always on the end of the phone with advice, inspiration and, inevitably, her precious time when I need a recipe test driver on deadline. In preparation for this magazine, she has lost days of her life slaving over liver and mushroom stroganoff (three variants before she was satisfied), mulled cider (four alternatives, but then she gets thirsty...) and - the reason for this column - Yorkshire parkin.
When I asked her to test some parkin recipes, Mrs Higgs revealed she'd never actually had it. When I'd got up off the floor to which I'd dropped in horror, this set me thinking. I can't remember the last time I made parkin, yet my mother made it weekly. Mrs Higgs claimed she had never made or eaten it because (poor wretch) she is from the south of England, where they have no use for such pleasures (I know, weird)......
