IN DEFENCE OF DESSERT

We've been hearing around town that desserts are dead... depending on where you’re getting your food news. But, a quick survey of team GB and C revealed that we’ll always reach for pudding, so we’ve rounded up a few of the teams favourites below.

If you ask us, dessert menus don’t need to be long to be wonderful. But they do need to be wonderful. As crucial as the warm welcome and first drinks order, the dessert dictates how the guest feels when they leave. It’s the encore they didn’t know they needed, the final temptation, the cherry on the - ahem - cake.

Thai desserts hold a special place in my heart because they remind me so much of my childhood. The Pudding Maprao Ohn at Plaza Khao Gaeng is one of my favourites - a light, refreshing young coconut pudding with tapioca peals and lychee. So good that even my Thai mum gave it her seal of approval! Jessie

I'm a chocolate fiend, so my favourite dessert is anything intensely dark and rich. I find a mousse (ideally The French House's version) or a flourless chocolate cake such as St. JOHN's Twice Baked Chocolate Cake or Cafe Cecilia's Odette's chocolate cake to be the most satisfying finale to a meal. Pani

Pophams’ restaurant dessert has to be my favourite pudding in London. It changes seasonally but it’s always made with freshly baked croissant dough. At the moment, it’s a Croissant apple tart with sesame and crème Anglaise. That’s a proper pud. Harriet

Back when I could eat dairy, I was obsessed with Campania’s Tiramisu - the perfect balance of bitter, sweet and creamy. Now, it has to be GOLD’s Flourless chocolate and ginger cake. It’s so light, not too sweet and the ginger adds a spicy kick. Chanelle

Frangipane anything will win on any dessert menu ever without fail, but one of the best desserts in London is the Fried Horlicks ice cream bun at BAO. The malty-ness of the ice cream and the crisp, sugariness of the bun is just the right amount of sweet to finish a meal without feeling overwhelmed. Jess