He may be in Dr No’s clutches, but James Bond is impressed with the menu provided by his captor at Crab Key in the novel of Dr No (1958). Offering a fine range of luxury dishes from Caviar double de Beluga to Sorbet à la Champagne, it is, Bond notes, a menu worthy of the Savoy Grill, the ’21’ or Tour d’Argent.

James Bond doesn’t try the sorbet – he predictably chooses the savoury option of angels on horseback, while Honeychile Rider has vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce – but for anyone who would have preferred the sorbet, I present a recipe here.

Serves 2

• 150ml water
• 80g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp glucose syrup
• 150ml Champagne or other sparkling wine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

To garnish

• White of one egg
• Caster sugar

Put the sugar and water in a pan and melt the sugar over a medium heat. Stir in the glucose syrup, then add the lemon juice and Champagne. Stir, bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Pour the liquid into a container (I used a plastic food container, but a metal bowl or old ice-cream tub will do just as well). Allow the liquid to cool – I placed the contained on a plate of ice – and place the container in the freezer. Freeze for 4-5 hours, removing the container every hour to stir the sorbet with a fork and break down the crystals.

To serve, dip the rims of two Champagne goblets in a bowl or saucer of egg white, then dip the rims in a bowl or saucer of caster sugar. Divide the sorbet between the goblets.