A patisserie lecturer has returned from a mouth-watering mission to teach Russian chefs how to perfect their pavlovas.

Leighton Anderson, who teaches at Bradford College, answered a call from the Baltic to show staff in a top hotel how to dish up delectable desserts.

Spending a week at the five-star Raddison Hotel in Sochi, on the Black Sea, he demonstrated lemon souffls, raspberry bavarois and decorations to tempt the tastebuds of guests.

Mr Anderson, who lives in Daisy Hill, Bradford, was invited to Russia by former college pupil Tony Higginbothom, who now works as executive chef at the Raddison.

He worked with six female chefs in the kitchens and was filmed by Russian national television as he helped nurture new skills and add more imaginative recipes to the menu.

"I showed them how to make sugar flowers and cold desserts. The problem was with the presentation so we practised doing dishes in individual portions," he said.

"They had a limited menu and they've now expanded it to include the new dishes."

The trip to the £150 a night hotel, which has hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin, was not without its funny moments as the language barrier caused a couple of culinary disasters.

"There was only one chef in there who could speak English and the translation got a bit lost in some of the recipes," he said. "One woman put cornflower into a sponge instead of baking powder so it didn't rise very much."

Mr Anderson, 48, also picked up some handy hints of his own after the chefs introduced him to "chocolate plastic" made using white and dark chocolate, liquid glucose and cocoa.

"You just cut a piece off and put it in the microwave and it comes out the consistency of Plasticine so you can model it for decorations," he said.

He was impressed with the talent of the staff, despite the fact they had to work with basic kitchen tools, and plans to hold a raffle in the new college restaurant to raise money to buy them more advanced equipment as a thank you.

Barry Holt, head of hospitality in the college catering department, said the trip had forged good links and plans were now on the front burner to bring two chefs from the Russian hotel for a week in Bradford.