What's cooking: Ross Burden

Ross Burden. Picture / BBC Good Food, Geoff Wilkinson

Chef Ross Burden's successful television career began after he reached the final of MasterChef in 1993. Soon after, the New Zealander was chosen by Joan Collins to appear in a healthy eating video, before making a name for himself on the television show Ready Steady Cook.

Burden, now based in Britain, feels very comfortable in front of a camera. At 17, he signed up with a modelling agency to help pay his way through university in New Zealand.

He went on to form his own catering company, serving food to the rich and famous, nobility and royalty.

The catering company is no longer, but Burden is very much in demand. He loves teaching and demonstrating the art of cooking and regularly appears at internationally renowned cookery schools such as Villa Valentina and Nairns Cook School.

He is also to be seen at major international food festivals, most recently at the Gourmet Food Festival at the Cape in South Africa.

Brought up in Hawkes Bay, he savours the wonderful locally grown produce whenever he returns.

"I remember the two weeks in the year when I could pick and eat my Granny's raspberries and how much sweeter those raspberries tasted after waiting a tantalising 50 weeks to eat them."

He is a great advocate for seasonal produce, which is reflected in his recipes and views on food production.

What's the first thing you cooked?

I was 10, it was Father's Day, and I cooked chicken and bacon parcel followed by chocolate cake. I remember this first experience really vividly.

What is your favourite meal?

Chicken and bacon parcel followed by chocolate cake. I make a fab flourless chocolate cake that takes no time at all and the results are stunning.

What is the best meal you've had overseas?

It was in 1990 in Verona, Italy. We were rained out of the opera and made haste for a restaurant. The three friends that were with me and the friendly ambience in the restaurant with great food made for a very pleasant evening. To start I had gnocchetti pasta with a country sauce - this pasta variety is shaped like a curved shell with ridges on the outer surface and is well suited for use with a heavy sauce. It was divine. To follow I had rabbit and porcini mushrooms - it was so good. We rounded off the meal with a selection of Italian cheeses and local, home-made Amarone, a dry wine with a generous, velvety body. It develops ethereal aromas with age. I asked the waitress, who turned out to be the daughter of the owner, what the year of the wine was. She hesitated and looked at the bottle and said, "Hmm, a green bottle so it must be a 1978". Of course, all the conversation was in Italian so mistakes were made but fun was had. The food was such a joy.

What do you eat at home when you can't be bothered to cook - an easy meal or a takeout?

Soup. I can freeze it so easily in single portions and when I come in late or just cannot be bothered I open the freezer and choose a soup.

What is always in your fridge?

Vegemite.

What do you always have in your kitchen cupboards?

Chutney, pickle, risotto. I shop every day for fresh stuff. Someone once described my kitchen cupboards as being full, but with nothing to eat.

Is there anything you refuse to eat and why?

I'm not really a fan of brussels sprouts and can't eat peanuts and walnuts because I'm highly allergic to them.

What's your idea of the perfect meal?

Oysters, foie gras and a good piece of cheese, washed down with a good red wine.

What food do you miss most from New Zealand and why?

I so miss kumara. The reason? It has a unique flavour. I truly miss it.

Can we have your chocolate cake recipe?

Flourless chocolate torte with raspberries

300g best chocolate (70 per cent cocoa)
200g butter
4 eggs
200g caster sugar

To garnish:

Creme fraiche
300g raspberries, fresh or frozen
50g caster sugar

Melt 100g of chocolate over water and pour over a robust tray, such as a clean roasting tray. Allow to cool. Add the rest of the chocolate and the butter into the same bowl and allow to melt and mix. Stir well.

Separate the eggs and beat 100g sugar into each bowl, making the whites into soft peaks. Beat the yolk mixture into the chocolate and butter mixture, then beat in half the whites, then fold the rest of the whites into the mixture.

Grease a 20cm cake tin and dust with cocoa. A greased paper disc underneath is a great idea. Bake at 160C for about 25 minutes; the centre should just wobble.

Allow to cool, then turn out upside down. If it has souffled, press gently. Serve warm with raspberries warmed with the sugar until it is dissolved, and with the creme fraiche and the 100g of cooled chocolate broken into chards or crumbled over the top for decoration.

For information about Ross Burden Cookery Classes ph (06) 307 7581