If you've never heard of him? and yet call yourself a chocoholic then go and hang your head in shame!! This German master chocolatier makes and sells chocolate for royalty throughout Europe.

For months I have listed his website on my short list of links and recently I was sent some samples to try…yes I know it’s a hard life.

The growing availability of exotic fruits & vegetables give us all a chance to try something new.
Papaya (also called paw paw) has a smooth skin which
turns yellow to orange when ripe. The sweet juicy pulp is orange-pink has a melon like texture and a slight spicy flavour. When cut in half the black seeds
that lie in the centre are easily removed. Traditionally the availability of Papaya was June-December but now their available most of the year. Just like Melon they are very versatile and can be combined in cold seafood salads or served as a starter on their own or even a dessert. *You may need to buy 1-2 litres of lemon sorbet
since that is the smallest size you can buy.

2 Large ripe Papaya (avoid ones with dry or blemished
skins)
4 scoops of lemon sorbet
6-8 large basil leaves
vodka
Fresh black pepper ( from a pepper mill)
1 small bag of Rocket leaves (optional for garnish)
*Raspberry couli (sauce)

1. Carefully peel the Papaya then cut them in half(lengthwise)
2. Use a teaspoon to carefully remove the seeds, then put in the fridge to get cold.
3. Stack the basil leaves, then roll them up together and cut them into very fine ribbons (this is called a chiffonarde). Or you could just roughly chop the basil.
4. Quickly stir the basil into the lemon sorbet, its important not to stir it too much or you will take too much air out of the sorbet and spoil the texture. So just a few quicks stirs then return the sorbet to the freezer.
Raspberry sauce
You can make the raspberry couli (sauce) if you wish, here's how.
one small box of frozen raspberries
1/2 pint of water
1 tablespoon of castor sugar.
5. Boil the ingredients down until soft then stain through a fine mesh strainer & cool.
To Serve
To make your papaya look professional use dinner plates so the dish does not look crowded on the plate.
6. Wash rocket leaves then drain well in colander.
7. Take a piece of paper towel and make wet then carefully rub the rims of 4 plates.
8. Use a pepper mill to screw black pepper onto the plate rims.
9. Pour the strained raspberry couli into a squeeze bottle (you can buy a ketchup squeezie bottle from
poundland stores or similar discount shops)and make
a zig-zag design in the centre of each plate.
10. Place a small mound of rocket leaves in the centre of each plate, trying not to cover all of your
zig-zag pattern.
11. Place a chilled half of Papaya on top of the rocket.
12. Then scoop a nice round ball of the Basil-lemon
sorbet into each portion.
13. Placing your finger over the top of your open vodka
bottle sprinkle the vodka over the sorbet and serve immediately.
Chef’s Tips
You can of course use fresh raspeberries to make the sauce if you wish. By planning ahead this dish can be whipped up in 3-4 minutes.