Welcome to July’s Observer Food Monthly

In this month’s OFM we have a collection of dazzling salads for you. Georgina Hayden brings a hit of lime and chilli to a classic watermelon and feta salad with the addition of the Mexican spice mix, tajin; Fuchsia Dunlop barbecues aubergines for a luscious sesame-scented Sichuanese salad; and Julie Lin uses the smoky notes of dried shrimp and the fizz of lime to dress a dish of mango and beansprouts. Add to that Joe Trivelli’s basil and paprika seasoning for mussels and Sarit Packer’s harissa and preserved lemons in a recipe for a Tunisian-inspired tuna salad and we are all set for high summer.

Author Shahnaz Ahsan joins Eva Wiseman and Rachel Cooke in mourning their much-missed favourite restaurants, those places that were once part of your life only to close one day and never return. While Eva’s first restaurant visits (Water Margin in north London) sound rather more interesting than my own (the Berni Inn in Hereford), I would suggest it is probably better to lose a place altogether than to watch your beloved friend slide steadily downhill or find themselves in new, unsympathetic hands, but a loss nevertheless.

Tim Adams unfurls his napkin with Michel Roux, when they eat at the legendary chef’s daughter’s restaurant. Naturally, “family” is on the menu, as is Roux’s heartbreak at the damage Brexit has done to the hospitality industry, and in particular the chance for cross-Channel staff training.

Sandrae Lawrence, editor of The Cocktail Lovers magazine tastes and rates tinned cocktails; Jay eats ice-cream; and Bake-Off: The Professionals’ Ellie Taylor tells us about her penchant for a soggy bottom and a girthy mug.