How to cook like Heston - Telly Talk

With the excess of the festive period finally over and the remnants of the turkey tightly sealed in a bin bag, I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing – it's time to dust off the vat of liquid nitrogen that's been sitting in the garage for ages and start cooking the Heston Blumenthal way.

No, it wasn't my first thought either, and I have to concede I was slightly apprehensive when I saw that the culinary conjurer had swapped his chef's whites for a domestic apron to embark on a mission to literally inject some magic into the way we cook.

Heston's eccentric reputation certainly lies before him, and when the audience were told they would need a syringe, blow-torch and wood chips from the garden – it was clear that domestic cookery programmes had moved on apace since Delia first introduced us to the sun-dried tomato. A trip to Morrisons was out of the question to fulfil these recipes – a pit stop at B&Q would be in order.

Each week, the Michelin-starred chef is taking one key ingredient and revealing the science behind the myths of what constitutes spectacular cooking – starting with beef.

First was how to cook the perfect streak using prime cuts of sirloin that had been sat unsealed in a fridge for two days.

Now here's the science bit – the meat was fried in a smoking hot pan to crisp up, or what is known as the Maillard Reaction, before being allowed to rest for five minutes to retain its juiciness. And it was worth it as the chef oohed and ahhed as he tucked into the succulent cut of meat.

It was then the turn of the humble beefburger and in order to illustrate his point Heston first allowed a team of rugby players to cook up their substandard version of the patty before smugly unveiling his superior sirloin steak burgers which contained no egg. Apparently this is a culinary clanger as it ruins the texture of the burger.

In Heston terms he had so far eased us in gently – but like a true circus performer he saved the best until last.

After inserting gravy into a steak and kidney pudding using a syringe, it was then the piece de resistance – the chilli bonfire in a bowl.

I'm sure you're familiar with this tried-and-tested culinary technique. Just pop into your garden, grab some wood chip in one hand, blow-torch in the other, and away you go.

One obvious question springs to mind, who is this programme aimed at? This is clearly not for the benefit of a mother of two...or anyone who lives in a flat. I somehow can't picture the idyllic family scene of us all sat around the dinner table on a cold winters night, bowls full of steaming chilli and my two young girls clutching their blow-torches ready to fire up that smoky aroma.

Avant garde this man may be, but there is no doubting his genius as every dish looked truly mouth-watering. I really enjoyed watching the wizard creations appear before my eyes, I just doubt I will ever attempt any of them at home.

This was not a domestic cookery programme, this was an education in food science, or probably a home economics class 400 years from now.

Make sure you have that liquid nitrogen handy because next week it's bacon and egg ice cream . . . with dry ice of course.

Melissa Coombs