A seasoned storyteller, Dudley paused only to sip a glass of bubbly as she guided her virtual kitchen companions through the recipe, step by step, sharing tips and tricks like butterflying the lamb so it could cook through without drying out.

The cooks who’d tuned in at home had the opportunity to ask questions during the hour-long session, which gave us the opportunity to learn more about the top chef on a personal level.

In between soaking the bulgur wheat and chopping parsley for the salad, we learnt that Dudley’s breakfast every day consists of “thin crispy toast topped with avo or hummus”, that she is a Bovril rather than a Marmite fan, and that she made fudge for the very first time this past week.  

Someone asked her about the time former US first lady Michelle Obama famously popped into The Kitchen with her mother, two daughters and a large entourage in tow.

“I knew she might be coming. They closed off the roads and there were sharpshooters around the building,” explained Dudley, as she combined the chopped parsley with garlic and lemon rind to form a gremolata, which was mixed into the now-softened bulgur wheat.

While preheating the pan to cook the lamb — it must be smoking hot, Dudley said — we discovered that Obama had enjoyed a selection of four vegetarian dishes, her mother had adored the restaurant’s sticky honey mustard sausages, and her children had loved the “love sandwiches” for which the Woodstock eatery is renowned.