Celebrated chef Brian Mellor tells Jade Wright about the sweetest way to a partner’s heart

LOVE is in the air over at Claremont Farm this weekend, as chef to the stars Brian Mellor shares his secrets with culinary-challenged couples.

On the most romantic weekend of the year, Brian, a Master Chef of Great Britain, will be opening up his kitchen and showing budding gourmets how to make delicious chocolates for their loved ones.

Brian spent years cooking at exclusive venues and competing in culinary events, picking up gold medals and awards along the way. He was executive chef at Granada TV in Manchester. There’s a five-bedroom Penthouse on top of the building and there he cooked for Prime Ministers, Royal visitors, and, on one occasion, OJ Simpson.

But now the down-to-earth Widnes lad is based at Claremont Farm kitchens, in Bebington, teaching his craft in a series of informal public workshops.

“We weren’t going to do anything for Valentine’s Day,” says Brian. “But then we had so many people asking for advice on what to make.

“Valentine’s is one of those occasions where you want to do something personal and handmade. Anyone could go to the shop and buy a box of chocolates, but to make them shows you’ve really thought about it. It’s going the extra mile.”

Brian will be running workshops this weekend, teaching budding chocolatiers how to make dark chocolate truffles, orange liqueur truffles, cappuccino truffles and milk chocolate ribbons.

“We ran a chocolate workshop before Christmas and it was really popular,” says Brian. “Everyone enjoys a really good truffle, and they taste so much better if you make them yourself.”

The workshop is open to people who want to make the chocolates as a surprise for their loved one, and for couples, too.

“It should be a lot of fun,” smiles Brian. “Whether people come on their own, or bring their partners. It’s always funny when you get couples on a workshop together. It can be a bit like teaching your husband or wife how to drive at first, but we always have a good laugh. I suspect there will be a bit of quality control going on, with one partner checking that the chocolates that are being made for them come up to scratch.”

And, if the chocolates weren’t enough, there’s an extra romantic element to the weekend. Brian’s girlfriend Irina Georgescu will be joining him to help out, and so the couple can spend Valentine’s Day together.

“Irina is my right-hand woman,” explains Brian. “She does the business side of things and keeps me organised, so it’s great to have her with me. We’ll be working hard on Valentine’s Day, but it’s good that we can be together.”

Brian and Irina met when he went on a fact-finding trip for Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year.

“Irina was the press officer on the trip, and it all went from there for us,” says Brian. “Everyone jokes that now I have a lasting legacy of Capital of Culture.”

Now Irina and Brian work all year round at the farm, and doing workshops around Merseyside, promoting the fantastic local produce available and encouraging traditional skills.

“I do a lot of work to promote our local producers and I wanted to promote the importance of carefully grown ingredients and cooking nutritious food,” says Brian.

“Together we can work on educating people that great quality food should be available for everyone. We are perfectly positioned on the farm to bring all this together.”

Claremont Farm is renowned for its seasonal ingredients, such as asparagus and strawberries, which are supplied to top restaurants across Merseyside, as well as sold in their farm shop.

“This is Wirral’s year of food and drink, and we have events and workshops planned to celebrate the fantastic produce that’s available,” says Brian. “At Easter we’ll be looking at forgotten Easter treats – things like Simnel cake that taste great but that people might not think to try.

“As soon as the asparagus begins in April, we’ll be running sessions where people can pick their own produce and learn how to cook it on site.

“There’s always a really good atmosphere at the workshops, and you get to eat what you cook. At the end of the session, we all sit down and eat the meal we’ve cooked together. There’s no fun cooking and not eating.”

Brian Mellor’s Valentine’s chocolate workshops run this Saturday and Sunday, priced £55. Full-day cookery workshops are available throughout the year, priced £90, and half-days for £55, including ingredients.

FOR more information, visit www.claremont farm.co.uk