Some would think that retirement means putting your feet up, relaxing and starting to take things easy. Not so for four lively ladies from Pontarddulais, who upon their retirement decided to form a cookery club in order to improve their already considerable culinary skills.

Jean Bolton, Gwenda Miles, Nesta Treharne and Iris Thomas are all active members of the local community of Pontardulais, and share a love of cooking. Following their retirement (three of them were teachers), the four ladies all took a cookery course at Sketty College in Swansea and now meet regularly to discuss recipes and to set new challenges for each other. Each takes one course, and once a month they meet in the home of the person who cooks the main course for a slap-up meal.

"We do try and make something of an effort - bringing out the best dinner service, choosing nice wine and dressing up a little, it's all part of the fun isn't it?" says Gwenda Miles. When they were presented with recipes by the world's most famous chefs, Rayomond Blanc and the Roux brothers, the ladies knew that the stakes had certainly been raised:

"It was a little intimidating at first, I have to say - after all, these are the most esteemed chefs in the world, with Michelin stars and all sorts! " explains Nesta Treharne, "but Dudley was confident that we would be able to do it, and his enthusiasm was infectious. I was responsible for the starter, which was a chicken and herb terrine by the Roux brothers. I will definitely use the recipe again, perhaps for a buffet or a special occasion. The most important part about more advanced recipes is preparation. If you have all the utensils and ingredients in time, it does make a difference."

The Roux brothers’ style of cooking has had such an influence on Nesta that she and her husband have booked to go and eat at Michel Roux’s three star Michelin restaurant in Bray, on the bank of the River Thames.

I’m hoping to take a copy of the recipe I used for the programme and get it signed by the man himself,” says Nesta, “Our daughter lives in the area and lectures in Surrey, so this is the perfect excuse to go and sample the real thing!”