LOVE them or loathe them, sprouts are an essential part of Christmas.

There is a tradition in our household that everyone has to have at least one on their plate at the start of the meal. It is often fobbed off onto an unsuspecting guest, or even the dog, as the meal gets under way but a tradition is a tradition and must be adhered to.

But there is far more to this humble vegetable. It has many uses and should no longer be considered only as a simple green accompaniment to the Christmas roast dinner.

You can stir fry it, deep fry it and make it into soup. You could serve it as a pre-dinner nibble, stuffed with mascapone and chestnuts for example, or turn in into souffle or sproutslaw. You can even make cakes with it.

One man who has been working hard to improve the profile of the sprout is Alcester chef Felice Tocchini, of Fusion Brasserie.

Felice is honorary chef to the British Sprouts Growers Association, and for them has developed a range of recipes which have been trialled at the BBC Good Food Show, on various television shows and with local children at the town's St Nicholas Primary School.

His soup and souffl are both popular specials in his restaurant and some of the other dishes have attracted a lot of interest. But sprout cake?

"It started as a gimmick," said Felice. "I didn't expect it to turn into the monster it has become.

"At last year's sprout festival in Chipping Campden there was a journalist who wanted a whole meal of sprouts so I had to come up with something. It didn't taste very nice then but I've made changes this year and it is better.

"There's a lot of interest in it at the moment. I don't know if that is going to die down. More and more people are asking for the recipe but I still can't believe people want to go home and make a sprout cake."

But gimmicks aside, what have sprouts got to offer?

Nutritionally they are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin D and folic acid (so good for pregnant women). They also contain compounds, known as glucosinolates, with anti-oxidant properties which have been linked to cancer prevention.

Four sprouts contain about 40 calories along with 80mg vitamin C, 0.5g fat and 25mg sodium.

Felice will continue to promote sprouts, and the search for more recipes goes on. So where does he begin?

"Cooking is like making a painting. Whether you make an abstract or a landscape or whatever you know what colours you are going to put in and how it's going to look at the end. You just bring in ingredients that you know go well together, and try a bit more of this or that.

"But to put something in to disguise the taste is totally pointless. If it's going to disguise the taste don't put it in at all."

Felice's dishes are available at Fusion Brasserie on 01789 762000.