THE first rule of Pudding Club is the opposite of not talking about it.

Its organisers want fans of the concept to shout it from the rooftops – but the one term of their membership has to be presenting an empty plate between servings says chef Paul Boorman.

Pudding Clubs are a national idea brought about more than 30 years ago.

The original club was founded at the Three Ways House Hotel, in the Cotswolds, in 1985 to prevent the demise of the great British pudding, at a time when restaurants seemed to offer only tiny portions of frozen cheesecake and gateaux.

Today, along with its supporters, they can claim their efforts have re-established such delights as jam roly poly, syrup sponge, spotted dick and bread and butter pudding as favourites throughout the country – and beyond.

Paul brought the idea to Colchester around six years ago when he was working at Clarice House in Colchester and admits it soon took off.

Now he is reviving the club at Play Golf Colchester where he is head chef with the help of his assistant Tom Leatherbarrow, himself a master chocolatier and award-winning dessert chef.

Paul says: “There is only one rule of pudding club and that is that you can go up as many times as you like and try as many of the puddings that we have, but you have to present a clean plate.

“You can scrape anything you have left onto a partner’s plate to finish but you have to have clear plate.

“We usually have about eight puddings to choose from and they will differ from event to event depending on the season.

“In the winter you can expect things like bread and butter pudding and in the summer lighter things like a lemon tart or tiramisu.

“There will be lots of variety to include some chocolate, fruit, pastry and cake amongst other things.”

The puddings will be presented in a buffet style and diners are invited to go up as many times as they like to try as many of the desserts as they want.

Preparations are well under way for the first event on June 11 and Paul says interest is already high.

“There is a real emphasis on fun and enjoying yourself.

“We don’t expect people to dress up, jeans and trainers is fine, so there is no need to put on a dinner suit.

“Mind you we did have a group come in evening dress once but it was again just for a laugh really.

“The beauty of it is that most of us grew up being told we could not have our dessert until we had eaten our main courses and there are probably lots of people who got to restaurants and wish they could skip the starter and main course and have their pudding first, when they are not almost full with other food.

“The Pudding Club is the opposite of having to eat up your greens. It is a whole evening of desserts,” adds Paul.

While they finalise the eight desserts which will be at the centre of the first meeting of the club, Paul and Tom are urging people to put forward their own suggestions.

“We have a Facebook page for the club and we have launched a competition on there encouraging people to say what their favourite dessert is and like and share the page.

“We are going to pick a winner and they will get free entry to the first event, and they can bring a plus one,” explains Paul.

Although he plans to keep the final menu under wraps for now, it is more than likely it will include Tom’s award-winning Tarte Tatin which in 2014 was voted the sixth best dessert in London.

“That is incredible if you think about all the restaurants in London and how many puddings are being served up on a daily basis,” says Paul.

Tom, who trained at Colchester Institute and was judged by Paul in a competition at the time, was also named Chocolate Innovation Chef of the year 2015, Young Pastry Chef 2016 and Pastry Inspiration Chef 2016.

“So I think as well as having his Tarte Tatin, we will have to have at least one chocolate dessert.

“We are currently in a long running friendly disagreement about which of us makes the best brownies,” laughs Paul.

But he says the dishes will change each time the club meets – adding there is no risk they will run out of the delicacies to prepare for their sweet-toothed members.

“Britain has such a long history of puddings, there are so many to choose from so we won’t run out of ideas.

“It would be really hard for me to choose my favourite but I do like a bread and butter pudding and I love making lemon tart, and a custard tart too.”

The plan is for the club to run every three months.

Paul adds: “When I have done it before it was so popular we had to do it every month in the end to meet demand.

“That is why we are doing a pre-paid, pre-booked approach to it because there is a limit to the number of people we can have.”

  •  The Pudding Club meets in the Amphora Suite, Play Golf Colchester, on Saturday June 11 from 7pm. The first meeting will be £15 a head and then £19.95 for future Pudding Club events. To book tickets contact Play Golf on 01206 843333 and go to The Pudding Club on Facebook to put forward suggestions and enter the competition.