I am Mike North, chef, restaurateur, and father of three. I started cooking in professional kitchens while still at school when I was 15. I was however always interested in food while growing up as my father was a butcher and I am one of eight children so home cooked food was always a big part of family life!

I own and run The Nut Tree Inn in Murcott along with my fiance Imogen. It’s a Michelin starred country pub and restaurant and we have been here since November 2006.

My cooking style is ‘modern’ British using the best ingredients available to me, often local. As a pub we offer steak and chips and a fish cake using our own home smoked salmon.

My favourite cuisine is simple food cooked with care and attention using fresh quality ingredients, Roast Dexter beef from our local butcher with simple seasonal vegetables for example.

I am inspired firstly by seasonal ingredients but my style and knowledge comes from experience gained working in the kitchens of chefs such as Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc and Michael Caines.

CHOCOLATE EGG

Caramel:
* 275g sugar + 75g water + a pinch of salt + pinch ground cinnamon
* 125g butter
* 350g double cream
* 1 gelatine leaf

Put the sugar, water, salt and cinnamon in a pan and cook until a golden caramel. Add the butter and whisk until melted. Add the cream and cook to 90C. Add the gelatine leaf and leave to cool in a tray. A deep pan will be required.

Chocolate mousse:
* 125g milk + 20g yolks + 13g sugar
* 1 gelatine leaf
* 300g milk chocolate-melted
* 450g double cream-whipped

Cook the milk, yolks and sugar until 82C, add the gelatine leaf to the milk custard then whisk in the chocolate. Once at body temperature, fold in the whipped cream.

Praline paste:
* 1 and ½ pints milk
* 6 yolks + 4oz sugar-whisked
* 2oz flour + 2oz cornflour-sieved
* Praline paste to taste

Mix the milk and the paste together. Whisk in the yolk mixture to the flour. Add the boiling milk and cook until thickened. Let it cool, then once cold, whisk until smooth. Add whipped cream to taste.

To assemble:
If you’re using real eggs like we do you need to cut of the top of the egg and empty the contents.
Sterilise the shells in boiling water then place a small amount of the caramel in the bottom. Pipe in some chocolate mousse and put a spoonful of the praline paste on the top. We add some popping candy and salt to the top!
You can also serve this into ramekins which is a lot easier to manage using the same layering.

This recipe will make a lot of eggs – about 30 – or about 10 ramekins full.  Alternatively the mousse is a very nice rich dessert if you just fancy making that.