Fascinated by the scientific approach to his art, former student Dave returned to Hallam University to indulge in a little experimental cooking of his own.

The co-owner of El Toro Spanish canteen and tapas bar in Broomhill studied at Hallam before going on to become a chef and product developer for Waitrose, M&S and Tesco.

The influence of Blumenthal – renowned for his snail porridge and sardine-on-toast sorbet – inspired Dave to come up with delicacies such as Pan Fried Salmon with First Spring Stinging Nettles (which he demonstrates on the Sheffield Telegraph website). But this time his creative talents were channelled in a more theatrical direction.

He was keen to experiment with alcoholic ice cream, using clouds of liquid nitrogen to give the dish an extra 'wow' factor. But the chemical is difficult for a small restaurant to obtain, so he appealed to Eat Sheffield co-ordinator Niki Baker for help.

The restaurateurs' forum is based at Hallam University and she arranged for Dave to return to his alma mater and carry out the experiments with the help of technicians Chris Trueman and Derek Brice.

"It was the first time we'd had a request like this and it was interesting for the students as well as the food technicians," said Niki. "It opens lots of potential doors for the future."

Dave's recipe – using puréed pineapple, Malibu liqueur and fructose – was declared a hit with his enthusiastic testers. He now hopes to recreate the dessert in the El Toro kitchen for Valentine's Day.

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