This year, however, her relatives will be expecting her to create something special at the family home near Beauly — despite a culinary track record which includes giving her husband food poisoning.

The reason her nearest and dearest are now prepared to let her loose on the festive lunch is Poppy’s new career as compiler of a cookery book, following in a family tradition set by her great-aunt Veronica.

Veronica — the wife of diplomat, adventurer and World War Two secret agent Sir Fitzroy Maclean — published “Lady Maclean’s Cook Book” in the 1970s.

Poppy, the grand-daughter of another Second World War hero, Lord Lovat, claims that until she was married she could only cook one dish, a yummy tuna pasta.

However, it was another pasta dish which sickened husband Henry Hughes, a successful criminal barrister.

“I made him very ill with something very simple, a pasta dish with olive oil, garlic and chives. It’s seemingly impossible to do that with dried food, so I realised something had to be done quickly,” Poppy admitted.

Expecting her first child, the woman judged by her husband as “without doubt, the worst cook I have ever come across” decided it was time to take her culinary deficiencies in hand.

“I enlisted the help of my friends and asked each of them for their favourite recipes, remembering that my great-aunt had written this wonderful book,” she said.

“The response was so great I thought I would put them together in this modern day cookbook. The point was that it was their favourite recipes and they were foolproof, and I got so bored looking in specific cookbooks, like Asian cooking or Chinese or Italian. This book has a collection of everything.”

With the self-explanatory title “Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People”, the book might almost be called “posh nosh” given the number of titled contributors. They include Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, (a recipe for a smoked sausage starter), the Duchess of Westminster (caramelised apple with filo crisps and date and apple puree), the Marchioness of Salisbury (onion tart), the Countess of Dalhousie (crab croquettes), the Countess De La Warr (flapjacks and Sussex Pond Pudding) and Baron Fairhaven (French partridge), guaranteeing anyone who follows the recipes really can truly eat like a lord.

Poppy’s cousin, the present Lord Lovat, also submits a recipe for the Lovat breakfast smoothie, and Poppy enlists her brother Raoul (banana yoghurt) her mother (vinaigrette and American blueberry pudding).

Other high profile names include the late photographer Lord Lichfield, actress mother and daughter Diana Rigg and Rachael Stirling, Archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti, and actress and model Sienna Miller.

Less well-known names range from professional cooks to artists, a monk and Campbell’s tweed shop in Beauly.

There are enough ideas to see anyone through from breakfast to tea-time. There is even — courtesy of Freddie Windsor — the blueprint for a cocktail comprising milk, brandy and the favourite childhood drink Nesquik.

“That’s the one joke recipe in the book. Freddie’s not a cook, but I thought it would be fun to put it in,” Poppy explained.

“My favourite is from (professional chef) Blanche Vaughan. It’s a truffle lasagne which is just incredible.”

However, there can be little substitute for home cooking, which is why Poppy relishes the chance to head back to the Highlands from her current home in London.

“My mother’s an amazing cook. I’m so lucky to be able to come here to enjoy some delicious food,” she said. “This will always be home and I hope that I can share it with my children.

“I feel incredibly blessed to belong to such a wonderful family. We’re all very close and there is tremendous support for everyone.”

Poppy Fraser studied psychology and once thought about becoming a train driver. Now, she is the author of a unique new cookbook, “Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People”.

She retains fond memories of her grandfather, whom she would see every Sunday.

“He really was very, very special,” Poppy said.

When it comes to food, though, the Highlands also have the advantage of wonderful fresh ingredients, which Poppy will be making full use of when she makes the Christmas lunch.

Poppy has successfully tried out the recipes in her books, but admits that with new baby Bertie recently arrived to join herself, Henry and one-year-old Lorcan, there has not been much opportunity for entertaining. So instead of full meals, friends have just been popping in for drinks or nibbles.

Becoming the author of a cookbook is something that never figured in Poppy’s career plans, though after studying psychology at university, she did contemplate another unusual job choice: becoming a train driver.

“They were so well paid, train drivers, and that looked such fun, going up and down the country, but I got sidetracked by going down to London,” she explained.

Instead, her career took a more creative turn, first with jewellery design and then when she went on to start up her own underwear company, Botti.

Poppy’s pants went on to receive international exposure when they were worn on the silver screen by Rachel Weisz in the Hugh Grant comedy “About a Boy.”

“That was fun,” Poppy said. “There was just a shortage of nice knickers around, so I thought there was a gap in the market, but that’s been filled largely by other brands.”

Not that she believes those other companies were necessarily following her lead.

“I think that when you have an idea, it’s very common that other people start thinking the same way and they all start doing it,” she suggested.

Though Poppy loved designing underwear, her business has been put on hold while she concentrates on looking after the boys, though she does have a small sideline in importing baby quilts from India.

Meanwhile her book, which has benefitted from some national exposure in the magazine Tatler and some newspapers, is proving a success.

“It has been going well. There was an initial print run of 3000 and we hope to sell that,” Poppy said.

Will it open up the opportunity for Poppy to follow in the footsteps of Nigella Lawson, for example?

“Who knows? I don’t think I would be as good in front of the camera. Certainly not as natural,” she said.

* “Fantastic Recipes from my Favourite People” by Poppy Fraser is published by Foxcote Books, price £12.99.

c.macleod@inverness-courier.co.uk

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