Back to school, work, reality: what to eat now summer is over

The shift from August to September can be brutal, so we’ve compiled the best dishes to avoid the dread of the work canteen

September arrives and, with it, the sudden, brutal gear shift from slow, lazy August, the mad rush to catch up on all the work you’ve been neglecting, to reconnect with the friends who’ve been away during summer. It’s back to the commute, back to work, back to school …

We are also back at school – every Thursday for the past few years we’ve been taking pottery classes at college. From 10 in the morning until five in the evening we are covered in clay; our muddy fingers cannot check the phone every five minutes, and everyone at work knows not to contact us unless it’s an emergency – and even then, only if there’s something we can actually do about it.