When Argus editor Arron Hendy heard top chef Simon McKenzie was delivering the ingredients for food lovers to join him in a cook-a-long, he decided to go for it.

A long, long time ago I fancied myself in the kitchen. I even had a couple of spells working in kitchens, starting as a young washer-upper and moving on to being the ‘fry-man’ and even cooking scallops at a high-end seafood restaurant.

So I fancied my chances in the cook-a-long, which is now available in Brighton and Hove.

And the excellent thing was, as it turned out, Simon McKenzie is not just a top chef, he was a master at working at the right pace for those of us watching and interracting via Facebook Live.

It was burger and chips - nothing fancy, you might think. But these burgers were amazing, even cooked by me. And my wife, who joined in helping me stick to the instructions, said we had the best chips we had ever made at home.

The burger came with Simon’s special burger mix, both wet and dry. The best thing was that he told us all what was in the mix - and it was simple ingredients that we all have at home - with amazing results - keeping the burger together and preventing it from being dry.

The chips came out so well. The different stages of cooking were interesting but simple enough to keep up with. The homemade slaw was something I had wanted to learn about making so it gave us some real knowledge and tricks to keep.

And with fantastic results, the cook-a-long gave us the chance to enjoy great food at home during lockdown.

“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Simon said. “And in the past I’d even proposed it to general managers at the restaurants and hotels I’ve worked at but I guess at the time they never saw the value in it although that situation has obviously now changed with lockdown.

“People love watching cookery shows so my live cook-a-longs are the natural progression of that, giving people a fun, educational and affordable experience with a great meal to share with their families afterwards.”

Simon said he loves being in front of the camera and teaching people.

He said: “It is always a little nerve-racking beforehand as we set up the camera and get the Facebook connection up and running, but once we’re live then I just have to get on with it and if there are any problems – such as the occasional glitch on Facebook live – then I deal with them… hopefully in good humour.

“Those participating at home can ask questions via Facebook, and if people are running behind then they can shout out and I will do a recap so they can catch up with everyone else.”

Simon chooses dishes people will enjoy making.

He said: “Whilst I expect people to have at least some basic cooking skills – such as turning on the oven – I plan the dishes to ensure that people of all levels of experience can participate to create a restaurant quality meal at home at an accessible price.

“In advance of delivering the ingredient boxes to those participating, I portion out and label the ingredients plus pre-make any laborious elements such as spice mixes plus include a brief detailing the kitchen equipment everyone will need on the night.

“There are different elements to the meals that I plan so people can learn tips and tricks such as knife skills or a new recipe that they can then incorporate into their weekly meals. An example of that would be my triple fried chips made in the oven without the use of a fryer: they are simple, cheap and taste a lot better than oven chips.”

Simon said the lockdown has forced him to innovate. He said: “I think businesses need to be creative and adapt to survive. I also hope that people appreciate that businesses such as mine that have gone the extra mile during lockdown to keep them fed and entertained will still be at the fore of their minds when things return to normal, as there is more to my food and catering business than just the cook-a-longs.”

On Saturday nights it is a team effort at chez McKenzie.

“I’m really lucky to have a really supportive family,” he said.

“Aisling, my partner, is on production - she covers comments and asks me the questions to answer live. Evie, my daughter, is on camera. Answering the comments though is fine, its the odd ones that catch you out and you find yourself looking at the floor for an answer - its like the headmasters office all over again.

“I think the main surprises are when suddenly I see a Facebook message of someone who says they can’t find an ingredient in their box or that they appear to have missed one of the stages. Its never a problem though – the ingredient will be there and I can easily back track on a stage to help them catch up.

Each week the cook-a-longs have been a success.

He added: “It’s amazing; every week the cook-a-long live goes from strength to strength. I have always loved getting on stage at food festivals to do demos; this is just like that, with the only downside is I can’t see the audience. It’s still great fun and I love seeing everyone’s dishes afterwards on my Facebook page and reading the comment.”

Simon thinks it is positive to see people getting interested in cooking during lockdown.

He said: “I think people have time on their hands and have turned to cookery which is a great thing. When you look at the supermarket shelves, there clearly has never been a bigger demand for flour, yeast and baking powder. Everyone should be making home-cooked food – not just in lockdown – it’s not that hard and its good fun so I hope people will keep it up.

“I’ve spent my entire professional career working in restaurants and hotel kitchens so I do hope that post-lockdown people will return to enjoying the dining-out experience. But I do think the coming months are going to be very tough for food and drink businesses.”

Simon said the lockdown has hit him hard as set out on his own less than a year ago.

“I was still establishing my business model,” he said.

“As a new business, I’m not entitled to any grants or furlough, and I’m finding that I’m working harder than ever before but with revenue still 55 per cent lower than last year. But I really love what I do and seeing my food and people’s amazing reactions to it, and I’m excited about the potential that the future holds to grow my business nationally.”

Chef Simon McKenzie’s Cook-A-Long Live is every Saturday night on Facebook. You can order ingredient boxes until Wednesday each week from www.chefsimonmckenzie.com and they will be delivered to your door within Brighton & Hove. Prices are £12.50 per person including delivery.