Celebrity chefs, Jean-Christophe and Matt Tebutt were here at Bullring holding a three-day cookery masterclass teaching Bullring shoppers how to cook healthier meals, low in saturated fats, with the help of Flora.

The chefs took to the stage to demonstrate how to cook healthy meals to onlookers in Bullring, and the lovely Jean Christophe Novelli very kindly agreed to answering a few of our questions…

What do you think of Birmingham’s culinary offering?

I think it has improved vastly with some great restaurants.  I learn a lot from Indian cuisine.  They don’t use salt; instead they use spices and herbs to flavour.  The Indian offering is not the usual style here; there is a vast choice and lots of very decent restaurants.

What’s your guilty food pleasure?

Coffee.  Several cups a day – but never with milk.  This together with coffee can create toxins in the body and causes the stomach to bloat.

What ingredient do you suggest we all use more often?

Vanilla pods are great to flavour food – even cooking with fish, rather than just keeping it for deserts.   I always use garlic to infuse flavours within food, and left over used coffee seeds from the machine are a great way to add extra flavours also.  A tip for you – never eat a large portion of meat after 6pm, it won’t digest.  The smaller the animal – the better it is for you.  And always grill!  Never fry in oil!

So you’re in Bullring for 3 days, will you be doing a spot of shopping whilst here?

I shall be buying a coffee machine…and I will be buying Jo Malone perfume from Selfridges for my fiancé…you can’t get it anywhere outside of London.

So there you have it, from the Michelin Star Chef himself, remember to leave out the salt, add in the Vanilla and never have milk with your coffee!