I have done a lot of things in my life that have taken courage. But standing in a professional baking class, surrounded by people who clearly knew what they were doing, holding a piping bag with absolutely no idea what would come out the other end, well, that felt like a very different kind of brave.

Saturday 14th February was Valentine’s Day, and while most people were booking romantic dinners or sending flowers, I had booked myself onto a Chocolate Feast baking workshop led by none other than Giuseppe Dell’Anno, the winner of The Great British Bake Off 2021. To say this was out of my comfort zone is a considerable understatement. I am not a baker. I have never considered myself a baker. But something in me said yes when I saw this, and I have long since learned to trust that quiet, persistent voice.

The Journey Begins (Not Without Drama)

Getting to the workshop was, shall we say, an adventure in itself. I had planned to catch the 8.52am train to Cheltenham Spa, perfectly timed, all mapped out, everything in order. As anyone who has ever relied on the British rail network will know, the universe had other ideas. The train was delayed, and with the clock ticking and no viable alternative, I found myself booking a taxi there and back at considerably more cost than I had anticipated.

It was not the start I had hoped for, but honestly? The moment I walked through the door and the scent of warm chocolate and toasted hazelnuts hit me, every frustration from the journey simply melted away. Quite literally.

Giuseppe: The Man, The Baker, The Warmth

I want to talk about Giuseppe Dell’Anno for a moment, because the man is quite simply wonderful. There is a quality to him, a warmth, a generosity of spirit, a genuine and infectious joy in what he does, that makes you feel instantly at ease, even when you are standing there convinced you are about to make a spectacular mess of everything and what you bake will be an absolute disaster.

His classes are deliberately small (never more than twelve guests), and you feel that immediately. This is not a production line experience. It is personal, it is unhurried, and it is dripping in Italian baking culture in the most delightful way. He and his knowledgeable helpers were at your elbow whenever you needed them, and the atmosphere in the room was one of laughter, learning, and the kind of easy companionship that forms quickly when people are united by butter, sugar, and a shared willingness to look slightly ridiculous in an apron.

The Baking: Four Recipes, Infinite Joy

We tackled four recipes across the day, and I can honestly say that each one was a revelation in its own right.

Tortine Barbabietola e Cioccolato

The first recipe we tackled was Tortine Barbabietola e Cioccolato. These beetroot and chocolate cupcakes were the recipe I was most sceptical about and ended up being most surprised by. The earthy sweetness of the beetroot purée blended into the chocolate batter creates a depth of flavour that you simply cannot achieve without it, and the moisture it brings to the sponge is exceptional. Topped with a mascarpone and orange cream frosting and finished with a chocolate button, they looked professional and tasted incredible. I will absolutely be making these again.

Rocher

This was the recipe that made me feel like I was doing something genuinely luxurious. Giuseppe’s own take on the famous Ferrero Rocher, entirely egg-free, involved crushing Loacker Napolitaner wafers, rolling the mixture around whole toasted hazelnuts, then enrobing each ball in melted dark chocolate studded with yet more chopped hazelnuts. An optional finishing touch you can deploy for these is a dusting of edible gold, and if you are going to do something out of your comfort zone on Valentine’s Day, you may as well do it with gold dust. They looked extraordinary. They tasted even better.

Nocciolatini

These little hazelnut biscuits were our introduction to the day, and they set the tone perfectly. The process of toasting the hazelnuts, grinding them with the flour, and then working the dough taught me early on that baking rewards patience and precision in equal measure. Making the dimple in each little biscuit ball, and then filling it with that glossy, indulgent chocolate and hazelnut spread once they had cooled, felt oddly satisfying in a way I had not expected. Giuseppe describes them as impossible to stop at one, and he is absolutely right. Consider this your only warning.

Sbriciolata alla Nutella®

The Sbriciolata was the most technically interesting of the day for me. A sbriciolata is essentially a crumble tart, rustic by design, never quite “perfect” in the conventional sense, and all the more beautiful for it. The filling of Nutella®, drained ricotta, and chopped toasted hazelnuts was simply extraordinary, and the crumble pastry that encased it had a texture I had never achieved in anything I have attempted in my own kitchen. The trick, Giuseppe explained, is to stop the mixer before you think you need to, just when it forms a rough, flaky crumble rather than a smooth dough. Trust the process. I did, and it worked.

The Only Regret of the Day

Giuseppe’s classes include lunch, and when an Italian antipasti spread was laid out early afternoon, it looked absolutely magnificent. Every instinct told me to sit down, pour a glass of something lovely (although I did do exactly that), and tuck in. But I had made a promise to my husband that we would have dinner together for Valentine’s Day, and some promises, especially the ones made to the people who matter most, simply cannot be broken. I did however try a tiny bit of the rustic Italian tomato soup that was the lunch’s starter, which was delicious. I declined the bread that accompanied it, and I wished I could have had more. But I’ve booked onto Giuseppe’s Easter Bakes workshop on 21 March 2026, and I will tell my husband he will be making his own dinner that night, so I can tuck in and enjoy it. When the course wrapped up at around 3.30pm I gathered my beautifully packaged creations, said my farewells, and slipped away, carrying four boxes of handmade chocolate treats and much more joy than I had arrived with.

Why This Mattered

I talk a great deal in my professional life about stepping outside of your comfort zone and about the value of doing things that challenge you and make you grow. Saturday was a reminder that those principles apply just as much to my personal life as to my professional life. Baking with Giuseppe Dell’Anno and having the opportunity to learn from a winner of the Great British Bake Off was, at its heart, an act of trust, trust in a process I did not fully understand, trust in a teacher I only knew from seeing him on TV, and trust in myself to try something new and embrace whatever came of it.

I arrived uncertain, very flustered from the journey, and wholly out of my depth. I left with four trays of genuinely beautiful bakes, a head full of new knowledge, and a quiet but unmistakable sense of pride.

The one very sad thing that crossed my mind when the trains were impacted was a conversation I had with my wonderful friend Simon on Christmas Eve when I last saw him, as he passed way suddenly on 29 December 2025. When I told Simon I was doing this workshop he was so excited for me, and even offered to take me to it, go into Cheltenham for a mooch and some lunch and pick me up when it finished. I said to Simon I couldn’t possibly take him up on his very kind offer, but he said if anything happened with the trains or I couldn’t get there to give him a ring and he’d come and get me and take me there. When the trains were impacted in the morning, I couldn’t help but think of Simon and his very kind offer, and I must admit I shed a few tears quietly in the back of the taxi I was in when heading there. I miss Simon so very much, he was such a kind and generous soul, and I hope he was looking down on me at the workshop from up there with a smile on his face.

If you have ever considered one of Giuseppe’s classes and been on the fence, let this be the nudge you need. Book it. Turn up. Get your hands floury. You will not regret it.

And if the 8.52am train to Cheltenham is delayed, have a taxi number ready.

Giuseppe Dell’Anno’s baking classes and books can be found at giuseppedellanno.com.