LAST Friday, the Malton Cookery School opened in earnest with a fantastic evening at the Chef’s Table. Since then a few people have asked me what exactly the Chef’s Table is. Let me explain.

The Chef’s Table is a new dining experience in Malton. Set at the stylish wooden counter inside the Malton Cookery School, in Saville Street, a four-course meal is served right in front of your eyes.

The chef stands behind the counter a few inches away. Sitting on a tall wooden stool (there are only 12 spaces available each time) you are eye to eye with your chef.

You see the flash of the knife, you hear and feel the pop of the flame. Basically, he prepares dinner for you and you can ask him anything you want. More salt, more butter, less chilli, who’s going to win the 2.10 at Wetherby. Anything.

You learn too. I dined at the Chef’s Table in the run-up to the annual Malton Food Festival and ended up talking to Craig Atchinson, James Martin’s head chef at the Talbot Hotel, about all the new coastal herbs he was using in the incredible bream dish we had.

There was marsh samphire, apparently not related to the more common rock samphire.

Also he used sea purslane and a delightful light seaweed, both delicious and completely unknown to me before. As I was sitting there with a glass of wine, I remembered the pleasure of getting to know new ingredients. Chatting about new discoveries is something I really love and incidentally can chat about for hours. Probably very dull, or at least that’s what my wife thinks.

While the Malton Cookery School is designed for those who want to take their cooking to the next level, the Chef’s Table is aimed at those who don’t want to get their hands dirty at all. It’s for those who like to sit back with a glass of something delicious and watch the magic happen.

Naturally, each course is matched to a glass of something special and you’re met with champagne too.

Last Friday’s diners at the Chef’s Table got off to a great start with some amazing canapés, mini cottage pies, puff pastry and truffle straws; and some cured salmon with cucumber ketchup.

The starter was wreckfish with crispy buckwheat in a crayfish bisque; and for the main, a wonderful braised pig cheek dish with black pudding and burnt cider sauce.

To finish, there were Yorkshire blackberries with a lemon sabayon. Well, actually the final course was coffee and some homemade salted caramel and raspberry marshmallows, but you get the idea.

It’s all cooked and served in front of you. All made to the customer’s exact specification, and all made with a joke or two from the chef.

Book one place or book all 12, but keep the dates in your diary as they happen only occasionally. Dates and availability from maltoncookeryschool.co.uk

I know you won’t be disappointed.