Poppy Fraser springs from the Lovat Frasers, a clan which has disturbed the peace of the Highlands for the past millennium. Her generation was more tranquil. Her father, Hugh, a gentle countryman and dendrologist with an almost mystical appreciation of landscape, had only one failing. He died far too young. Still mourned, he left an enduring gap in many friends' lives.

Poppy is married to Blondie Macdonald-Buchanan, another Highland name to conjure with, who is a promising sculptor. So she is in charge of a sept consisting of a husband, four children, a cat and a dog. To maintain order in such a disorderly household, her command and control centre is the kitchen. She makes cakes, with a bias in favour of chocolate, which are in equal measure scrumptious and diet-busting. She has also written cookery books, most notably Ten Minute Suppers for Children. 

She has agreed to become Patissiere en Chef and Meditation Editor of Provocateur. Repressing our invincible ignorance, we shall watch, and chronicle, her forays into that strange world with interest, amusement and scepticism - while always alert to summon air-sea rescue should she succumb to bean-sprout poisoning.