Beetroot and espresso brownie with beetroot meringues, salted caramel, white chocolate and kirsch ice cream

Chocolate. Now there’s a word that makes us sit up, take notice and resist urges to sing love songs at the top of our lungs. There can’t be many people that have a chocolate aversion, I’ve certainly never met one and I’m certainly not one of them. In fact, my very first ‘proper job’ was working at a fledgling chocolate company and I could not have been happier.

Such is its reputation; chocolate can cope with being the star of the proverbial dessert show. It is the edible canvas and our job, as the cook, is to add the colour. For the mother of all chocolate brands, Godiva, you absolutely, 100%, definitely know, the chocolate is going to taste phenomenal so anything added to the plate must be wanted, hell, needed.

Beetroot is another favourite of mine. The extraordinary, unexpected, ridiculous pink that emerges from a dismal looking beet is a joy. The taste is bitter and sophisticated; an ideal partner to this chocolate romance. I’m presenting you with a luxurious, soft beetroot brownie with a hit of espresso. A gloriously thick white chocolate ice cream made with condensed milk (you’ve gotta love being British) balances naively atop, unaware that just before eating, it will be doused in salted caramel. But wait, one more thing, the crunch. Ah yes, a tiny beetroot bleached meringue sits next to the sweet island, a saccharine ice burg in this sea of chocolate heaven. I hope you enjoy it.