Did you know that last week was National Chocolate Week? NO?!!!*

*(neither did I…)

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending a very special evening courtesy of @GBchefs at which I learnt how to make the most delicious chocolate truffles in the world!

Great British Chefs is a relatively new venture that celebrates and champions the best in home-grown chefs across the UK. These are chefs who cook in their restaurants on a regular basis and whose food is distinctive and cooked with love. As somebody who has a French wife, I have spent the best part of the last decade championing UK cuisine – often just to prove a point to my gastronomically gifted French mother-in-law that we ‘ros-bifs’ are no longer just a nation of fish’n’chippers.

The good folk a Great British Chefs have managed to compile some amazing stories and content on their site and new iPhone/iPad app (more on that below) which is definitely worth a look for anybody who is passionate about good food.

Anyway, back to last Friday…

Great British Chefs’ lovely Mecca Ibrahim (a.k.a. @anniemole) invited a mix of London bloggers along to the wonderful Homemade London premises in the West End to attend a three hour workshop in making Armagnac ganache truffles from scratch. The inspiration for these chocolates was taken from Great British Chefs’ recipe collection donated by non-other than Michellin-starred chef Martin Wishart.

First, a brief word about Homemade London.  If you’re looking for a slice of creative heaven tucked away in a stylish corner of Marylebone, this is it. Homemade London brings together designers from multiple disciplines to host a wide-range of workshops and classes - from bag-making and lingerie to signature scent creation, upholstery and chandelier making in a cosy, warm and – most importantly – fun environment.

Nicola Barron from Homemade London

The venture is the brainchild of Nicola Barron, a fashion and interior design junkie who moved to Paris at age of 18 to immerse herself in the fashion industry before pursuing a career as a TV producer. After 10 years at the BBC she left in2009 to find a new challenge that would combine her skills and experience with her passion. As a serial evening-class attendee, she always struggled to find classes that taught her to make things she’d actually want to wear or keep. The inspiration for Homemade London came from a desire to learn from the designers she loves.

I have to say that Nicola and her delightful staff Farah and Kate is the embodiment of friendliness – something that becomes apparent from the moment you enter the premises. From the very first “hello” (accompanied by the always welcome ‘pop’ of a bottle of Prosecco), we bloggers were immediately put at ease as we were ushered to take a seat around a large table laden with Turkish Delight and lovingly wrapped Amaretti biscuits.

Joining me on the evening were some fantastically talented bloggers – some which I have known for a while and others that I was really happy to meet for the first time:

• Laura Porter: London Travel Guide  @AboutLondon
• Doreen Barber: Tasty Fever  @londondear
• Melinda Seckingon: Miss Geeky @mseckington
• Farhan Rehman: Conscious Communications @farhan
• Helen Piercy: Helen Animate  @helenanimate
• Miriam Nice: Cakes & Canapes @miriamjsnice (I should note that going on the looks of Miriam’s truffles, she’s probably an Olympic gold-medalist in canape making!)
• Rosana McPhee: Hot & Chilli  @Rosana_McPhee
• Jamillah Knowles: The Knight Patisserie @jemimah_knight
• Cristiano Betta: CristianoBetta.com @cbetta
• Mark Griffin – who was a Facebook Competition Winner @westpier

Once everyone had arrived, we descended to the basement where we were instructed to adorn our aprons and to split into pairs. I was lucky enough to have the wonderful Laura Porter as my partner in choco-crime and as Nicola began talking us through the recipe, Laura and I promptly divided the list of tasks among ourselves.

chocs away

After Laura expertly brought the double cream to the boil on our electric hob, I whisked in the organic, fair-trade chocolate trying unsuccessfully not to split the mixture when I added the butter. We then split the gooey-mix into two separate containers and added Armagnac to one lot and bergamot essence to the other (to give an Earl Grey flavour).

Life is like a box of chocolates: You can make a real mess of it...

We moved back upstairs whilst we left the chocolate to set in the fridge. For the next hour we were instructed by the adorable Farah on how to make a handmade decorative box into which the finished product would eventually go. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun playing with gift-wrap, scissors, cardboard, glue and ribbon… it was pure unashamed regression and I loved every second of it!

Box buddies: Rax and Cristiano

When our boxes were fully formed, decorated and festooned with an accompanying sleeve, we returned to the kitchen below where we finished off our truffles by shaping them into balls and coating with a generous helping of cocoa-powder and freeze-dried raspberry crumbs.

Mecca did an amazing job of putting together a bunch of really lovely people which made the whole evening even lovelier than it would have been. Maybe it was the wine, perhaps it was the sugar rush from the Turkish Delight… but I never thought that handicraft making would be this much fun!

The whole experience was something that I would never have considered doing but would now definitely recommend to anyone looking for something different to do in London. In fact, I’m considering taking the wife along soon so that she can appreciate the hard-work, effort and tears (of uncontrollable laughter) that went into making the box of delights that made up an unhealthy portion of her breakfast on Saturday morning.

The best thing is that whilst the recipe was penned by the great Martin Wishart it is easy enough to replicate at home. If you fancy having a go at the workshop, you can book yourself on to the same chocolate truffle course at Homemade London by visiting their website.

Armagnac Ganache Truffles by Martin Wishart

A massive thanks to (the GREAT) Great British Chefs for such an unusual and fun Friday evening. It’s worth checking out their  new app for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, where12 of Britain’s most celebrated chefs have come together to connect food lovers with stunning recipes. Putting 180 dishes in the palm of your hand, the app gives users access to three customisable five-course menus from each chef, which they can either follow in full or use to make a bespoke menu of their own. The app is bursting with tips, videos, wine pairings, and a shopping list tailored to whichever dishes users want to make. Mecca took me through a walk-through of the app on both the iPhone and iPad and both versions showcased the recipes in the best possible way. Unfortunately, as an Android user I’ll have to wait a bit longer for the app to emerge on other platforms but it’s worth waiting for from what I’ve seen.

I’ve downloaded many cooking apps onto my phone and tablet over the last year and not one of them manages to come near the one created by Great British Chefs. What I like about the app is that whilst it has a really sexy interface with amazing photography and stylish fonts, the guide itself is extremely practical and allows you to add items to your shopping list, put a timer on whilst you’re actually making the dishes and also add your own footnotes to the text. The app manages to take the best features from other cooking apps out there and combine them into a really beautiful package well worth the £2.49 price-tag.

And for those of you without an iPhone/iPad, hold tight… GBChefs is be launching an extensive new website this autumn, bringing you even more chefs, hundreds of delectable recipes, new ‘how to’ technique videos, restaurant and recipe book reviews, plus much more.

Check out the video below and don’t forget to follow Great British Chefs on Twitter and on Facebook.

“Food Porn at its best” Time Out from Great British Chefs on Vimeo.