June has landed with its usual fanfare: blazing sun, blooming flowers and that inevitable pollen cloud that turns all of us into sneezing, sniffling messes. If you’re anything like us, you spend half your day rubbing your eyes and wondering if anyone will notice you’ve turned as red as a tomato. But the great outdoors is calling, and we’re not about to let a bit of hay fever get between us and picnic season.

In a bid to bring the outdoors in – and keep pollen at bay – we made this little chicken smash burger feast (pictured top). Delicious as it was, though, we could not resist the call of alfresco dining altogether – it’s picnic season, after all, and we will not be cowed. So, last weekend, armed with an embarrassing amount of tissues, a pharmacy’s worth of antihistamines and a resolve that could rival a marathon runner’s, we loaded up the bikes with a few essentials. First, there was Margot Henderson’s courgette, feta and red onion tart, a flaky little number that somehow manages to be comforting and sophisticated. It’s the kind of tart you want to show off to friends.

Then came the salads – not least because, if you’re going to be out in the sun, you need something bright, fresh and clever. Chris Shaw at Toklas’s borlotti bean, tuna and tomato salad is the perfect antidote to pollen-fuelled grouchiness. It is hearty without being heavy, and has a laid-back Mediterranean vibe that makes you imagine you’re dining somewhere far sunnier than the local park. Not to be outdone, Yotam Ottolenghi’s herby green rice salad with tofu and sesame made a quiet but firm case for tofu as the picnic MVP: it’s fresh, zingy and makes you feel virtuous even while you’re ignoring the itch in your throat and the sniffle of your nose.

And then, to round things off, Helen Goh’s coconut, vanilla and almond cake with strawberries. This cake was carried with the dignity of a royal procession (OK, maybe more like a slightly lopsided tin shoved in a bag), and devoured with fingers all sticky from berry juice. Sweet, fragrant and utterly worth the sneezing fit that came on later.

By the end of the day, we were a glorious mess – sun-kissed cheeks, noses running like tap water and eyes redder than beetroot. But the laughter was louder than the sneezes, and the food somehow tasted even better for being eaten outdoors, as it always does, with a breeze in your hair and friends by your side.

So, to everyone braving the hay fever haze this picnic season, carry your tissues, embrace the itch and never underestimate the power of a really good salad (or cake) to make it all worthwhile.

Dove love | A chef we adore is Jackson Boxer, and even though his excellent Brunswick House is just around the corner from our home in south London, he’s probably the only person we’d ever want to go to Notting Hill for. And we’re more than happy we did: Dove isn’t a new restaurant by any means, and even though we didn’t try its famous burger, we had pretty much everything else on the menu and loved every bite.

Home comforts | We’re a little smitten with Julie Lin, and her new book, Sama Sama: Comfort Food from My Malaysian-Scottish Kitchen, is heartfelt and beautifully written, and took the flavour levels in our own kitchen to new heights. It would have been worth the price for her chilli crisp recipe alone, but then we tried her peanut sauce …

Sing for your supper | We love Opera Holland Park and try to see at least one performance every season. Even if you aren’t an opera buff, there is something special about the experience: the balmy night, the beautiful gardens and the music mingling with the sounds from the park. (This year, we are so proud to be serving our own food there, too: sweet treats, salad boxes and dips.)

The talk of the Town | We rarely go to brand-new restaurants – we always prefer to let them mature a bit first – plus there are so many old favourites to go back to (we’re looking at you, Trullo and the Canton Arms) – but we’re always first in line when Stevie Parle is involved. Town, his latest place, is just as good as we knew it would be. Better, actually. (Read more in Grace Dent’s five-star review, below.)

Town, London | “It’s a big, beautiful, ballsy, expensive-looking beast; a sleek, capacious, ever-so-slightly Austin Powers-esque, shiny-floored, caramel-coloured pleasure palace,” writes Grace Dent of this outfit at the less glamorous end of Drury Lane. She warns that the menu “is not for anyone with a meek appetite, or those hoping for a Slimming World Body Magic award by the summer” – think warm potato sourdough with bone marrow dripping gravy and Welsh lobster with lardo and house XO sauce. It is not, despite its proximity to the theatre district, a place to rush through before a show. Read the full review.