Michelin starred chef Jason Atherton explains how his love of dessert inspired his new book 'Social Sweets'

Long before the days of owning 17 restaurants all over the world, Jason had something of a sweet tooth.

He said: “If I’m eating in a restaurant I’ve always had dessert, and if I’m cooking at home I’ll always make a dessert. It’s just a really nice way to end a meal, even if it’s something simple like homemade ice cream or a parfait.”

Because of his love of sweet things, the 43-year-old’s restaurants, including his flagship establishment in Pollen Street Social in London, have always put a spotlight on the final course of a meal, tailoring recipes to each particular clientele.

Jason said: “Pollen Street Social is fine dining, Michelin starred, everything is more refined, a lot more sculptured, a lot more elegant. Whereas if you go to one of the tapas bars, the dessert might be something like crèma Catalana. It all depends on what the concept of the restaurant is.”

Jason has packed his pudding expertise into his new book.

Written over a 12 month period, it features more than 100 recipes for everything from Bakewell tart to sticky toffee pudding. The former protégé of Gordon Ramsay said that he wanted to highlight the necessary skills as well as flavours required to ensure a very sweet success for bakers.

He said: “Pastry is a very disciplined skill, so as well as running my day to day kitchen where the savoury part of it is concerned, it’s always been a massive passion of mine making sure that my pastry sections are immaculate, make sure that the skills are there in soufflé making, bread making, pastry making. So it’s always been a massive thing for me.

“So many young chefs overlook how disciplined the pastry section is. In any kitchen I worked in, I’d always work in the pastry department so one day if I was lucky enough to own my own restaurant I would have the skills to be able to train people properly. When I got asked to do my own book I jumped at the chance because it gave me the chance to pass on my skills to people at home.”

Jason is a self-confessed soufflé fanatic. He said: “I am obsessed with soufflé making at the moment, I love a good soufflé”

He added that he is pleased, if slightly taken aback, by the nation’s Great British Bake Off inspired baking addiction.

He said: “I can’t believe how obsessed Britain has been with baking. Whoever could have predicted that? It’s insane, it’s incredible. I’ve never known anything to grip a nation like that before. Whoever thought Victoria Sponge would be our new British hero?”

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