Willie Shepard, of Green Arbour Farm, was one of the trainee cooks in Jamie’s latest culinary venture.

Though the chef’s arrival in Rotherham has ruffled many feathers in the town, Willie says the experience has taught him a lot about food.

In 27 years of marriage, 50-year-old Willie had never cooked dinner for his wife Sandra – but has progressed so far this year that he is now all set to cook Christmas dinner for 12.

”It’s been a really positive experience and I’ve got to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame,” said the father-of-two.

”Jamie’s a cheeky, genuine lad and he’s very down-to-earth. He truly cares about people and he really looked after us while he was here.”

In the four-part Channel 4 series, which ended on Wednesday, Jamie has attempted to spread a ‘pyramid’ of good cooking.

He has trained eight people to cook, and the theory is that they each pass on the recipes to two of their friends, and they will do the same until 250,000 have been taught to cook.

Swapping the cowshed for the kitchen, Willie has transformed from a complete beginner to a proficient cook.

He even laid on a special party in his barn, where friends and family learned some of the dishes he had picked up from weekly cooking classes with Jamie.

His impressive cooking repertoire now includes dishes like beef wellington and salmon tikka.

”I’m just confident enough now to take any recipe and give it a go. It’s really made me appreciate good food.”

”As a farmer, I’m obviously really pleased that Jamie is doing something to promote good quality food.”

Though he is unsure quite how many people the ‘pyramid’ plan will reach, Willie has been able to use the skills he has learned to inspire a passion for food in his friends.

”I was out with some mates at a football game over the weekend and one of them showed me a picture of some food he had prepared on his mobile.”

Willie’s wife Sandra, who often works nights in her job for Rothercare, says having someone else to share the cooking burden is a real help.

”Sometimes when I get in really late, it would be just great to be able to smell some delicious food cooking in the kitchen,” she said.