The school's head tutor, 30-year-old Nurdin Topham (above), deftly guides the class in turning locally grown produce into extraordinary dishes. "England is waking up to our local farmers," he enthuses. "Discovering the best sources for food and ingredients is crucial to our school. We like to find the stars of the show.

"We'll top perfect asparagus with a Lemon Sabayon, a dish that reflects R.B.'s philosophy of food-purity, nobility, and seasonality. The airy sabayon is like traditional hollandaise in spirit alone. It's made with eggs, water, and only 50 grams of butter. The eggs work their magic with air, so we end up with a light, melty sauce," he adds.

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