Guests of Standard Bank were treated to a personalised dining experience in their own homes with a Michelin-star chef,

Directly from London restaurant Le Gavroche, where he has been at the helm since the early 1990s, Michel Roux Jr gave a 90-minute master class full of tips.

All attendees received hampers in advance, including all of the ingredients, a signed cookbook, branded chopping board and wine which had been paired with the dishes.

Roux Jr, who is among a panel of high-profile judges for this year’s Great British Food Awards, explained that while many people had experienced difficulties over the lockdown period, one positive to emerge was the chance to spend more time with his family.

By his own admission, he spoke of his ‘lockdown hair and beard’ and how he had spent time at home over recent months, ‘taking up yoga’ with his wife, creating new recipes, planning for the re-opening of Le Gavroche and also revealed he had recently become a grandad.

During a Q&A session, Roux said he believed while the Covid-19 pandemic had led to a tough time in the industry, it was now trying to tackle the immediate challenges to continue training chefs, while minimising the risk of transmission, and feels there is a real appetite for people to go back to restaurants.

Chief executive of Standard Bank Offshore Group, Will Thorp, who welcomed the guests at the start of the event, hailed the digital cooking class a success.

He said: ‘It really was a wonderful evening and to participate from the comfort of our own kitchens with a chef of such esteem was a real honour.

‘Hosting client events is an important part of businesses.’