A comforting fragrance filled the room as frankincense and cinnamon blended with toasted malt loaf and cherry bakewell tarts to give a heavy sense of sweetness. Then strawberry jelly gave way to raisins and sticky dessert wine accompanied by weighty Madeira cake. Water encouraged an even darker temperament as prunes, dates and Pedro Ximenez sherry paved the way for fruitcake and mince pies with brandy butter.

We finally moved on to the palate, undeniably smooth with a mouth-watering juiciness encased in chewy toffee and caramel with brazil nuts and chocolate nibs. Battenberg cake and butter icing brought more sugary delights before we rounded up with stewed pears and plums covered in dark chocolate sauce.