Staring down at my hand-dived scallop, I took a deep breath and rolled up my sleeves.

Since veggie curry is about as ambitious as it gets in my kitchen, I wasn’t sure I was up to a recipe involving cauliflower puree and black pudding bon bons but, under the tuition of one of the region’s top chefs, I soon discovered my inner Delia.

Paul Cunliffe’s culinary career began at Bingley’s Oakwood Hall Hotel and today he’s head chef at the Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Cafe and Bar in Leeds, which re-opens this month following a refurbishment. Armed with a new set of recipes for spring, he’s leading Harvey Nichols masterclasses at The Cooking School, showing how to make great modern British food with restaurant-standard taste and presentation.

The Cooking School offers several courses, from French pastry-making to dinner party hosting. TV chefs including Gino D’Acampo and Rosemary Shrager have cooked there, and occasional classes are led by Indian restaurant Prashad.

The state-of-the-art, spacious kitchen is equipped with top notch utensils. Everyone is allocated a work station and equipment, so I took my place, facing Paul standing at a counter. Above him was a TV screen showing close-up footage of his hands at work.

We were cooking pan-seared, hand-dived scallop with pressed slow-braised belly pork, curried black pudding bon bons, cauliflower textures and apple brandy jus. It sounded like something from a Masterchef final.

All the ingredients were laid out on a tray, and our equipment was arranged on the work surface. Our first task was to chop a cauliflower – straightforward enough, until a mandolin was brought into the mix. I glanced at Paul, effortlessly shaving off cauliflower slices on the blade, and stared at my mandolin. I didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, Cooking School director Matthew Benson-Smith appeared at my side and showed me how to slice the florets thinly, without losing any skin on my fingers. I sliced a few pieces and marinated them in rapeseed oil, lemon and seasoning, leaving to lightly pickle.

Placing a few florets to one side, for pakoras, I put the rest of the cauliflower into a saucepan, poured in cream and butter and gently boiled.

Next came the curry paste. Following Paul, I set about finely chopping fresh coriander then adding it to a batter made with flour, curry spices, seasoning and water. Getting the consistency right was tricky – I kept glancing at other people’s efforts which looked either runnier or thicker than mine – but once I’d added enough water and whisked it, Matthew said my paste looked “just right”.

While dipping cauliflower florets in batter, to create little pakoras, I suddenly heard the whirring of blenders. Paul had moved on to the black pudding bon bons. Grabbing my black pudding, I chopped it up and blended it with curry spices, garlic and the remaining coriander, before rolling it into balls.

By this time Paul was caramelising his belly pork in a frying pan and eventually I caught up, adding the black pudding and sliced crab apples.

Leaving the meat to rest, I de-glazed the pan with calvados. The idea was to add chicken stock and reduce to a glace, but I forgot the chicken stock. I forgot to keep stirring too and next time I looked it was burning, but Matthew managed to rescue it.

Then I remembered the pan of cauliflowers and cream simmering on the hob. The woman next to me was draining hers into a bowl, so I grabbed a sieve and did the same. It had turned into a lovely creamy puree!

Next came the scallop, which I cut out of the shell, oiled, seasoned and placed in a pan, searing each side, with smoked butter.

Then it was time to start “working the plate”. Taking a look at how Paul had arranged his food, I laid a base of cauliflower puree, placing the belly pork (which had been in the oven with the black pudding) on top, with the bon bons, pakoras, pickled florets and crab apples. I garnished with apple blossom and jus.

It looked good enough to eat! I couldn’t believe I’d turned a tray of raw ingredients into something resembling a fancy restaurant dish.

Thanks to Paul, Matthew and the other calm, helpful chefs keeping an eye on us, my stint in The Cooking School had been a fun learning curve.

The day ended with a cocktail masterclass led by Fourth Floor Bar manager Adrian Wickham. I poured in two measures of gin (one damson), a double measure of fruit juice, added ice then shook it together, Tom Cruise style, before straining into a glass and garnishing with a plum slice.

Called The Empire, it was a refreshing, fruity summer drink. Cheers!

  • The Cooking School is at Dean Clough Mill, Halifax. Paul Cunliffe is hosting a Harvey Nichols Masterclass on Saturday, May 4, and a new five-day course runs from May 22 to 26. For more information, call (01422) 383912 or visit www.thecookingschool.co.uk.