Quick to prepare scallop sashimi with tarragon, baby leeks and chicken reduction — paired with dry and aromatic Vouvray wines at an event organised by Great British Chefs.

Great British Chefs seafood specialist Tom Brown shares his recipe in 10 easy steps:

Scallops sashimi with tarragon, baby leeks and chicken reduction

Prep time 30 mins

Cooking time 60 mins

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 8 hand-dived scallops
• 3 baby leeks
• 1.5 litres chicken stock
• 1kg chicken wings
• 150ml cold pressed rapeseed oil
• 100ml verjus
• 1 small bunch of tarragon
• 1 pinch of sea salt

Method

1) Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C / gas mark 4.

2) Spread the chicken wings evenly in one layer on a roasting tray and roast in the oven until dark golden, sticky and caramelised.

3) Use 250ml of chicken stock to deglaze the roasting tray, ensuring to thoroughly scrape all the flavourful bits of chicken that have stuck to the tray.

4) Add all the chicken contents, along with the remaining stock, to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

5) Heat until the stock has reduced by about two thirds, then pass through a fine sieve and leave to cool.

6) Trim the baby leeks and blanch them in heavily salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Refresh them in ice water, then place on a cloth to dry.

Tom’s tips on shucking scallops:

7) Dip the scallops in cold water and place briefly on a cloth. Then slice them in half to give two round slices. Arrange four slices per plate and generously season with sea salt.

8) Hold a sharp knife at an angle and cut thin, eye-shaped slices of the baby leeks. Put about 3 slices of leek on each piece of scallop, before adding 2 tablespoons of the chicken reduction.

9) Add another layer of flavour by drizzling 1 tablespoon of verjus and 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil.

10) Finish by selecting the smallest blades of tarragon and arrange neatly on top to finish. Serve and enjoy!

• Visit Great British Chefs for more scallop recipes

Why Vouvray wines were chosen to match this recipe

White Vouvray wines are made from the Chenin Blanc grape, and come from Vouvray AOC in France’s Loire Valley. Typical dry, or sec, Vouvray wines display apple or pear flavours with a zesty acidity.

‘Vouvray has high acidity, which is countered by small amounts of residual sugar,’ said winemaker Tania Carême of Domaine Vincent Carême.

‘This creates a wine that tastes dry and balanced, to match with the different sweet and sharp elements of the dish.’

• Test your knowledge – Chenin Blanc quiz

‘These wines stand out for working well with sushi,’ said chef Tom Brown.

‘So I thought I’d create my own twist with raw scallops and added an umami element from the chicken flavours mixed with the acidity of the verjus and rich rapeseed oil.’

Recipe by Great British Chefs, which organised this event, and write-up on Vouvray wines by Laura Seal.

Coming soon: Decanter guide to pairing wine with sushi.

Vouvray wines reviewed by Decanter:

Tom Brown was head chef at Michelin-starred Outlaw’s at the Capital and recently reached the finals of Great British Menu. He will be opening his new restaurant Cornerstone in east London, due to launch February 2018. Click here to find out more

More food and wine ideas:

• Barbecue sardines with garlic and lemon – and wines to match

• Tandoor grilled monkfish with a wine to match – recipe

• Squid ink linguine with wines to match – Michel Roux Jr

• Rillettes of mackerel on toasted Irish Soda bread – and wines to match

The Decanter team joined Great British Chefs and up-and-coming Chef Tom Brown - head chef at Nathan Outlaw’s at The Capital - in a masterclass on the quest to create a perfect pancake. Drinks matching was provided by Decanter.com contributor Matthieu Longuère, Master Sommelier and tutor at Le Cordon Bleu London.

• To see the full pancakes with rhubarb, apple, almonds and clotted cream recipe click here

• See wine matching recommendations for Pancakes with Decanter and Matthieu Longuère MS

Sieving Pancake Ingredients

Chef Tom Brown cutting forced Rhubarb

Chef Tom Brown cutting forced Rhubarb

Decanter's Annabelle Sing and Jessica Charlton practice the Rhubarb compote

Rhubarb and apple compote before being reduced for 5-7 minutes

Decanter's Jessica Charlton double checking the recipe from Great British Chefs

Chef Tom Brown explaining how to make the perfect pancake

In the small frying pan, the pancake begins to take shape

Rhubarb and apple compote and pancakes nearly ready

Decanter's Annabelle Sing at the Cordon Bleu Cookery School putting the finishing touches to the Rhubarb and apple compot and pancakes

Chef Tom Brown plates up the pancakes

And they are ready to try

They didn't last long

The Decanter team joined Great British Chefs and up-and-coming Chef Tom Brown - head chef at Nathan Outlaw’s at The Capital - in a masterclass on the quest to create a perfect pancake. Drinks matching was provided by Decanter.com contributor Matthieu Longuère, Master Sommelier and tutor at Le Cordon Bleu London.

With today being Shrove Tuesday it seemed only natural that the Decanter team: Harry Fawkes, Jessica Charlton, and Annabelle Sing, attend an exclusive crêpe demonstration evening with Chef Tom Brown at the world-famous cookery school Le Corden Bleu in London.

In anticipation of Pancake Day, Tom chose a simple recipe for us to follow: mini crêpes with a seasonal topping of rhubarb, almonds and clotted cream.

Suitable for us Decanter novices to recreate easily at home but hopefully with a resulting dish that would look both impressive and elegant.

Cooking with forced rhubarb (rhubarb that is grown in the dark under candlelight which makes the stems shoot upwards to grow faster and for a arguably more succulent taste) and fresh Cornish clotted cream added to the sophistication of this dish.

But Tom also revealed a few interesting tricks and tips on how to make picture-perfect fluffy pancakes in any kitchen. We’ve added these in bold below:

Pancakes with rhubarb, apple, almonds and clotted cream

Chef: Tom Brown

Serves: 5

Preparation time – 30 minutes

Pancake batter

• 200g plain flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 large egg
• 300ml milk

Rhubarb compote

• 500g forced rhubarb, washed and trimmed
• 1 large Braeburn apple, peeled and cored
• 50ml ginger beer
• 50g butter
• 50g caster sugar

To serve

• Toasted almond flakes
• Clotted cream

Method

1. To make the pancake batter, sieve the dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl – Sieving the flour airs the batter which helps to create light and fluffy pancakes
2. In a separate bowl or jug, beat together the milk and eggs then whisk into the dry mix – Whisking sideways will help create bubbles which, in turn, will air the batter
3. Once smooth, cover and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour prior to use – Pancake batter needs to rest to stretch it out. However, it is not necessary to leave it to rest too long; overnight is the absolute maximum time recommended
4. To make the rhubarb compote, roughly chop the rhubarb and apple into 2cm chunks – For this dish, red apples are better to use than green apples. Red apples are naturally sweeter than green apples so go better with rhubarb which is already quite sour
5. Melt the butter in a pan and add the rhubarb, apple, ginger beer and sugar. Gently cook down until thick and stick – The desired consistency of the compote should be gooey. To know when it’s ready just taste it – if it tastes good, it’s probably done! Note that the compote gets naturally sweeter the longer it cooks
6. Make pancakes using the batter – Rapeseed oil or sunflower oil is best to use here as they have a higher burning point
7. To serve, stack the pancakes on top of each other and top with a generous spoonful of the compote, some clotted cream and a handful of toasted almond flakes – Dip the spoon in hot water before scooping into the clotted cream – this will help achieve the perfect quenelle shape

Did they taste as good as they looked? We thought so! The end result is so much more than just a classic pancake.

Note – these crêpes work just as well as a savoury dish. Mushrooms, crème fraiche, and mackerel are just a few ingredients that you could use

• To see the gallery of pictures of how to make these pancakes, click here

Visit Great British Chefs for more pancake recipes

• See wine matching recommendations for Pancakes with Decanter and Matthieu Longuère MS

Crab and vermicelli salad with mango & red chilli

This simple summer recipe is full of character and bold flavours...

Milk bread – recipe

Pumpkin Pie Bars – recipe

Winter is upon us and Decanter.com has teamed up with Great British Chefs to bring you five of their most seasonal and festive drink recipes, all sourced from the world's top mixologists and chefs. Stay warm.

Winter Drinks and Cocktails

Mulled wine is one of the first tipples that springs to mind when looking for a beverage that would be perfect to offset the cold outside. Fiona Beckett gave Decanter.com her top recipe tips here last year here: Mulled wine recipe. This year, Great British Chefs have taken this one step further creating winter wine based drinks and cocktails which are sure to give inspiration for the party season and keep you warm outside. Here are Decanter’s top five:

Mulled wine Bellini

by Marcus Wareing at Great British Chefs

Ingredients

For the mulled wine reduction

• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 handful of cloves
• 15 black peppercorns
• 20 star anise
• 1 pinch of mace
• nutmeg, grated
• 1 orange, juiced and peeled in strips
• 2l red wine (4 1/4 pints)
• 500g of caster sugar (1 1/8 lb)

To build the cocktail

• 100ml of sparkling wine, preferably Nyetimber Classic Cuvée (3 1/2 fl oz)
• lemon juice to taste, 5-10ml

1. To prepare the mulled wine reduction, add all of the ingredients to a saucepan, apart from the sugar. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer

• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 15 black peppercorns
• 20 star anise
• 1 pinch of mace
• nutmeg
• 1 orange, juiced and peeled in strips
• 2l red wine
• 1 handful of cloves

2. Add the sugar, stir to combine and continue to simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Set aside and allow to cool

• 500g of caster sugar

3. Strain and allow the mixture to cool before transferring to a clean, sterilised bottle. This reduction will keep for up to 1 month

4. To assemble the cocktail, add the sparkling wine to a Champagne flute. Pour in 25ml of the mulled wine reduction, then stir in the lemon juice to taste and serve

Victory lemonade

by Vivek Singh at Great British Chefs

Ingredients

Victorian lemonade

• 60ml of Taylor’s 10 Port (2 fl oz)
• 20ml of lemon juice (2/3 fl oz)
• 20ml of orange juice (2/3 fl oz)
• 15g of sugar (1/2 oz)
• 5ml of Fernet Branca (1/4 fl oz)
• ginger beer, to top up
• crushed ice

Garnish

• cherries
• fresh mint leaves
• orange zest
• icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Add enough crushed ice to come 2/3 of the way up the glass. Pour in the Port, fruit juices, sugar and Fernet. Use a bar spoon to swizzle the ingredients in the glass for 30 seconds

• crushed ice
• 60ml of Taylor’s 10 Port
• 20ml of lemon juice
• 20ml of orange juice
• 15g of sugar
• 5ml of Fernet Branca

2. Top up with ginger beer and more crushed ice. Garnish with the cherries, mint leaves, orange zest and a dusting of icing sugar. Serve immediately with a straw

• ginger beer, to top up
• cherries
• fresh mint leaves
• orange zest
• icing sugar for dusting

Soiree Amaretto Prosecco sour

by Monica Shaw at Great British Chefs

Ingredients

• 45ml of Amaretto, Soiree (1 1/2 fl oz)
• 15ml of lemon juice, fresh (1/2 fl oz)
• 15ml of lime juice, fresh (1/2 fl oz)
• 1 tsp stock syrup
• Prosecco
• cherries, preferably Maraschino

Instructions

1. Pour the Soiree Amaretto, lemon juice, lime juice and stock syrup into a Champagne glass. Top up with Prosecco and serve garnished with Maraschino cherries

Death in Venice

by Bruno Loubet at Great British Chefs

Ingredients

• 15ml of Campari (1/2 fl oz)
• 4 drops of grapefruit bitters
• Prosecco

Instructions

1. Add the Campari and grapefruit bitters to a Champagne flute. Top up with Prosecco, stir lightly to combine and serve immediately

Christmas gin fizz

by Adam Gray at Great British Chefs

Ingredients

Christmas gin fizz

• 50ml of Tanqueray gin (1 2/3 fl oz)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 egg white
• grenadine syrup
• caster sugar
• naturally light tonic or Prosecco
• ice cubes

Infused gomme syrup

• 500ml of gomme syrup (1 1/16 pints)
• 4 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 3 cardamom pods

Garnish

• glacé cherries

Instructions

1. To infuse the gomme, add the syrup to a pan with the spices. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool

• 1 1/16 pint of gomme syrup
• 4 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 3 cardamom pods

2. Prepare the glasses in advance by freezing, adding a dash of grenadine and swirling to coat. Sprinkle with caster sugar and place back in the freezer until required. Alternatively, dip the rim of the glass in grenadine followed by the caster sugar to coat the rim

• grenadine syrup
• caster sugar

3. Fill a shaker to halfway with ice cubes. Add the gin, 1/2 fl oz of infused gomme syrup, lemon juice and egg white. Seal with a lid or Boston glass and shake hard for 30 seconds

• ice cubes
• 1 2/3 fl oz of Tanqueray gin
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 egg white

4. Use a Hawthorne strainer to hold back the ice and pour through a fine strainer into the prepared Champagne flute. Top up with the the tonic and garnish with glacé cherries and serve

• glacé cherries
• naturally light tonic

All recipes courtesy of Great British Chefs

Visit Great British Chefs for more cocktail recipes.

Credit: Gay Dyson / Unsplash

Mulled wine recipe – Ask Decanter

How to make your best mulled wine, with some expert advice....

Video: How to make mulled wine for Christmas

Wine cocktails to try and how to make them

Wine cocktails are continuing to grow in popularity...

It's the latest summer rosé trend - a frozen rosé wine cocktail. Try making your own frosé with this recipe from Sally Abé at Great British Chefs...

Frosé recipe

• What is this? See: ‘Frosé’ becomes latest summer wine trend

Ingredients (for sharing with friends)

• 750ml bottle of rosé wine
• 500g of strawberries, halved
• 50g of caster sugar

• Top 10 rosé wines for summer

Method

1. Tip the rosé into a ziplock bag and place in the freezer. Don’t freeze the wine in the bottle, because it may crack.
2. Place the strawberries in a heatproof bowl with the sugar and cover with cling film.
3. Place over a pan of barely simmering water for about 1 hour, until all of the juices have run out of the strawberries.
4. Pass through a fine sieve to extract the juice.
5. Once the wine has frozen, place it in a food processor with the strawberry juice and blend to a slush.
6. Divide between wine glasses, garnish with a twist of lemon and enjoy in the sun…

For more cocktail recipes visit Great British Chefs

More recipes to try:

Tandoor grilled monkfish with a wine to match – recipe

An alternative summer barbecue...

Champagne rhubarb, Earl Grey tea ganache, rose and white chocolate – recipe

Great British Chefs and Alfred Prasad, Head Chef at the first Indian restaurant ever to win a Michelin star, the Tamarind in Mayfair, takes Decanter.com through his version of a BBQ. Tandoor grilled monkfish, stunning presentation, samphire tempkora to add crunch, a zingy pomegranate kachumber to add freshness all seasoned with a salty seawater foam. This is like no barbecue seen before.

Tandoor grilled monkfish, pomegranate kachumber, samphire tempkora, ‘sea water’ foam

Chef: Alfred Prasad

Serves: 2

Cooking Time: 90 min

Course: Main

Skill level: Medium

Ingredients

Monkfish

• 400 g monkfish tail, cut into 100 g chunks

First marinade

• 10g ginger and garlic paste
• 1 lime, juice only
• sea salt, finely ground

Gram Flour Roux

• 10g gram flour
• 15ml vegetable oil

Second Marinade

• 40g ginger & garlic paste
• ¾ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp kasundi mustard paste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ¾ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 green chilli, seeded, finely chopped
• ½ bunch fresh mint, chopped
• ½ bunch fresh coriander, leaves only, chopped
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped fine
• 10 ml vegetable oil

For the kachumber:

• 100g pomegranate seeds
• ½ cucumber finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 2 green chillies seeded, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, de-seeded, diced
• ½ bunch coriander stem, finely chopped
• Himalayan pink salt, finely ground

For the sea water foam:

• 1tbls olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, finely sliced
• 100ml white wine, dry
• 250g clams
• soy lecithin powder (1% of the liquid weight)

For the samphire tempkora:

• 100g samphire
• 150g plain flour
• 50g gram flour
• 50g corn flour
• 1 medium egg
• 250ml sparkling water, cold
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Vegetable oil (for frying)

Method:

1. For the monkfish, prepare and portion the monkfish tail, marinate with ginger-garlic paste, juice of lime and sea salt and set aside in a colander, to drain
2. For the gram flour roux, warm 10ml of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add 15g of gram flour, cook over gentle heat for 3 minutes and transfer to a plate to cool
3. For the second marinade, in a mixing bowl, add the gram flour roux and all the ingredients of the second marinade; mix well. Add the pre-marinated monkfish and mix gently to coat well
4. For the pomegranate kachumber, in a salad bowl, mix all the ingredients together and set aside
5. For the seawater foam, heat the olive oil, sliced shallots and garlic in a small saucepan over a low-medium heat. Add the wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the clams, cover with a lid and simmer for a further 5 minutes, allowing the clam sot open and release all their natural juices
6. Pass the contents of the pan through a fine strainer. Weigh the liquid to determine the quantity of lecithin* to use, transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool
7. For the samphire tempkora, combine the egg and sparkling water and a mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients and mix well; strain through a fine sieve and leave refrigerated until use. Heat the vegetable oil to 180˚C in a small, deep saucepan for deep-frying. To prepare the tempkora, mix small batches of the samphire into the batter and scatter into the hot oil. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes and drain onto kitchen paper
8. To serve, mount the monkfish on thin tandoor skewers and grill in a tandoor (or mount on bamboo skewers; suspend over a baking tray and grill in an oven) for 6-8 minutes or until the desired doneness. Portion the pomegranate kachumber onto serving plates; place the grilled monkfish on top and garnish with the samphire tempkora. Spoon over the prepared seawater foam on the plate and serve

• See all recipes on Decanter.com

Visit Great British Chefs for more recipes

Wine Match by Le Cordon Bleu Wine Development Manager, Matthieu Longuère MS

Fritz Willi, Mosel Riesling 2014

Off dry with lime, ripe apricots and red apples, with a fresh acidity to cut through the powerful flavours.

Buy it:

Wine Poole (UK), £10.50

Drink Monger (UK), £10.95

Get Wine Online (New York), $15.39 – web only offer

Crab and vermicelli salad with mango & red chilli

This simple summer recipe is full of character and bold flavours...

Seared and marinated tuna with roasted kale – recipe by Michel Roux Jr

Pan seared squid & fregola risotto – recipe by Michel Roux Jr

Paul Foster's stunning presentation ensures this tomato tart recipe is as impressive as it is delicious. The plum tomatoes really are the hero ingredient, with two confit tomatoes and two compressed tomatoes standing upright on discs of buttery Parmesan biscuit. Topped with creamy avocado, fragrant basil and a hint of spice from slices of chorizo, these tarts have a perfect combination of flavours.

Plum tomato tart with Parmesan biscuit, avocado and chorizo

Chef: Paul Foster

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 90 min

Course: Starter

Skill level: Easy

Ingredients

Tomatoes

• 16 baby plum tomatoes
• 250g of salted butter
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 50ml of Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
• 50g of dark muscavado sugar

Parmesan biscuit

• 250g of strong bread flour
• 100g of grated Parmesan
• 100g of salted butter
• 2g of salt

Avocado emulsion

• 1 avocado, ripe
• 3 egg yolks
• juice of half a lemon
• 300ml of sunflower oil
• sal

To serve

• 1 bunch of fresh basil
• 4 slices of chorizo
• mixed salad leaves, to garnish

Equipment

• Food processor
• Vacuum bags
• Chamber sealer
• Blender
• 6cm pastry cutter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3
2. For the Parmesan biscuit, mix together the flour, Parmesan and salt and rub in the butter to create a coarse crumble. Pour the crumble across a baking tray and cook for 10–15 minutes until golden, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool
3. Meanwhile, lightly score a cross through the skin of each tomato and place in a bowl. Cover with just enough boiling water to cover and leave for 30 seconds, then drain and cool the tomatoes under cold water. Peel off and discard the skins
4. Place 8 of the tomatoes in a heavy-bottomed pan with the butter and thyme sprigs. Gently melt the butter over a low heat and allow the tomatoes to confit slowly for 1 hour
5. Place the remaining 8 tomatoes in a vacuum bag with the vinegar and sugar and seal with a chamber sealer to compress. Set aside until ready to serve
6. Once the pastry crumble has cooled, transfer to a food processor and blend until the fat begins to separate out, making the crumbs sticky and glossy. Tip out onto a tray lined with baking paper and cover with a second sheet. Roll out evenly to create a thin layer of dough and transfer the tray to the freezer for 1 hour to set
7. To make the avocado emulsion, remove the peel and stone and place the flesh in a blender with the egg yolks and lemon juice. Blend briefly to combine as a smooth mixture then, keeping the machine slowly running, gradually pour in the sunflower oil until the mixture emulsifies
8. Adjust the seasoning to taste, then pass through a fine sieve to ensure the emulsion is completely smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve
9. Drain the confit tomatoes from the butter and the compressed tomatoes from the vacuum bag. Remove the Parmesan dough sheet from the freezer and use a 6cm pastry cutter to stamp out biscuit discs
10. To assemble the tarts, place a Parmesan biscuit on each plate and stand 2 compressed tomatoes and 2 confit tomatoes on top. Pipe over a little of the avocado emulsion and some shredded fresh basil. Gently warm the chorizo slices in a frying pan over a medium heat and lie across the top of the tarts, garnishing the plates with a few salad leaves to serve

Wine Match by Le Cordon Bleu Wine Development Manager, Matthieu Longuere MS

Côtes de Provence Rosé, R de Rimauresq, Domaine de Rimauresq, Provence, France 2015

Rosé wine is no brainer when considering a wine to have with tomatoes. The combination of ripe, red berry fruit and freshness of rosé seems to be handling the sweet and sour flavours of the tomato perfectly. This Côtes de Provence Rosé has enough structure to cut through the crunchy texture of the parmesan biscuit and handle the richness of the emulsion. The wine’s pungent mix of herbs, spices and pink grapefruit will not be overpowered by the balsamic vinegar and the chorizo.

Click here to see Wine-Searcher for stockists

Recipe courtesy of Paul Foster to celebrate British Tomato Week.

Visit Great British Chefs for more recipes.

Champagne rhubarb, Earl Grey tea ganache, rose and white chocolate – recipe

Courgette flowers, apple and horseradish – recipe

Paul A. Young, with Great British Chefs and Cordon Bleu teaches Decanter's Jessica Charlton and Patrick Grabham how to make this show stopping dessert.

Champagne rhubarb, Earl Grey tea ganache, rose and white chocolate

This is a show stopping dessert, so easy to prepare and dress yet it looks like hours and hours of work. It’s the prefect winter to spring dinner party dessert.

Scroll down to see the full recipe.

With the marking of the 10th anniversary of Paul A. Young Chocolates first shop it seemed fitting to join a group of chocolate enthusiasts for an evening masterclass to help celebrate the occasion.

Paul A. Young, renowned and innovative chocolatier, with the help of Le Cordon Bleu’s Master Chef Julie Walsh, led a fun and inspiring masterclass to encourage us to expand our ideas when cooking with chocolate.

First, Paul demonstrated how to make this seasonal dessert and then it was up to us to try and recreate what we had just seen. Although the dessert looked undeniably impressive and elegant it was easy to see how Paul’s ethos of simplicity has come about. Cooking with chocolate doesn’t have to be complicated or tough as long as the chocolate you start off with is good quailty. The key with chocolate, Paul explained, is simplicity.

While the rhubarb was softening in the oven we were able to taste Paul’s delicious chocolates. Grapefruit marmalade, calamansi juice and martini to name just a few of the ground-breaking flavours that have made him so legendary.

Wine Match

Finally to the tasting! The dessert was beautifully paired with Moscato d’Asti Alasia, Piemonte, Italy 2014. Carefully chosen by Matthieu Longuère MS, this sparkling sweet wine worked beautifully with the rhubarb and Earl Grey ganache to give a fresh sweetness that cleansed the palette.

The atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful, perfectly reflecting Paul’s philosophy of chocolate; that life is boring and dull without it!

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 1 hour, plus 2 hours setting time for the ganache

Ingredients

Rhubarb

• 500g Wakefield champagne rhubarb cut into 3 inch (7.5cm) lengths
• 200g Unrefined golden caster sugar
• 50mls Vodka

Earl Grey tea ganache

• 200mls Very strong Earl Grey tea
• 400g 64 to 66% cocoa solids Valrhona dark chocolate
• 50g Unrefined golden caster sugar

Decoration

• 10g Dried edible rose petals
• 100g White chocolate bar – leave whole
• Gold leaf – optional

Method

1. For the ganache, bring the Earl Grey tea and sugar to the simmer, pour onto the chocolate and whisk well until smooth and glossy. Pour the ganache into a 6 inch (15cm) square baking tray lined with a double layer of cling film. Refrigerate until fully set. Approx 2 hours.
2. For the rhubarb, place the perfectly cut rhubarb onto a baking dish, sprinkle with the sugar and vodka. Cover with foil and braise for 20 minutes at 175˚C. Take out of the oven and allow to cool while still covered.
3. Once cold, carefully lift out the rhubarb onto 4 layers of kitchen towel to dry out slightly. Pour the cooking liquor into a saucepan and reduce slightly to a light vibrant pink syrup.
4. Cut the white chocolate bar with a large knife to create very thin shards and set aside. Place 7 to 8 pieces of rhubarb on to a flat white round plate.
5. Take the ganache from the fridge and carefully turn out onto parchment paper. Remove the cling film and cut the ganache with a hot knife to the same size as the rhubarb rectangle.
6. Cover the top of the ganache rectangle with white chocolate shards. Place the ganache rectangle gently onto the rhubarb with a palette knife. Now place rose petals onto the white chocolate decoration.
7. Spoon the vibrant pink liquor around the dessert and finish with small pieces of gold leaf between the rose petals.

Recipe courtesy of Paul A. Young. Visit Great British Chefs for more chocolate recipes.