Chef's Special with Chris Bentham at The Black Boy, Headington

I studied at college in Derby, and worked in a five-star hotel before gaining a position under Raymond Blanc and working my way up to be one of his head chefs.

I now have my own pub, The Black Boy, and a new venture – a country pub with six letting rooms, The Compton Swan, in Compton, Berkshire.

My cooking style is modern European with some Asian influences creeping in from the time I spent there. Our ethos is great comfort food executed well. It’s important to me that we provide our guests with a little refuge from their day-to-day life.

My signature dish for my customers, has to be our braised pork belly with garlic & thyme mashed potato, seasonal greens & cider jus. I once took it off the menu for two weeks and was met with complete rebellion. For me it’s our Oxtail bourguignon. It is cooked for over 18 hours and is truly wonderful. When I’m too tired to cook, we have a slow cooker that’s so good it's actually been named by my godson Henry, who calls calls it Alfie.

I love to make shoulder of lamb in Port, with homemade lamb stock and vegetables. You bung whatever vegetables you have in the slow cooker with rosemary, a bulb of garlic cut in half, one bayleaf, Port and seasoning, and switch it on. Twelve hours later it’s done.

My favourite places to eat and drink around Oxfordshire include Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. It’s an amazing experience every time.

For something a bit more casual, we love The Bat and Ball in Cuddeson.

The strangest food I’ve ever eaten is cobra. Not to be repeated.

I’m inspired by Raymond Blanc. I worked with him for a long time, and you can’t beat the man, really. He still keeps an eye on us now. He advises and helps with every venture. You can’t ask for more.

HAZELNUT PANNA COTTA

* 425ml whipping cream
* 75g castor sugar
* 2 leaves gelatine
* 24ml frangelico
* 12 ml Kahula

Method
Place 200ml of the whipping cream, frangelico, kahula and sugar into a pan and bring to the boil. Leave to cool.

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft.

Once the gelatine is soft, add to the cream mixture, whisking as you go.

Add the reminder of the cream to the mix; this will help bring the temperature down faster. Pour into four moulds of equal size.

Place in fridge to set for two hours. Eat!