Chef Yotam Ottolenghi, joined The Taste panel today as a guest judge to set the remaining cooks their first challenge of the evening.

Yotam is an Israeli-born cookery writer, restaurant owner and broadcaster who is perhaps best known for mixing Middle Eastern flavours with the best from the Mediterranean and Asia.

In The Taste kitchen, Yotam brought with him a number of spices – cardamom, star anise, all spice, pink peppercorns and fennel seeds – and set the cooks the task of creating a sweet dish that uses at least one of the spices. The cooks are given just an hour to prepare their dish for Yotam to taste.