BEHIND closed doors at Oxford University, Trinity College has gained a reputation for some of the finest food.

But since the country was put into lockdown, the dining hall at the college – which might have been eaten in by famous alumni like Jacob Rees-Mogg – has been closed for business.

The colleges head chef Julian Smith has been put on the government’s furlough scheme – joining hundreds of other staff who have had to take a break from their roles.

However, that hasn’t stopped him from serving up his usual tempting treats. Mr Smith, who has worked at Trinity for 24 years, has now taken to social media giving step-by-step tutorials and uploading popular recipes to Instagram so students and staff can recreate their lunchtime favourites.

He has even been taking requests for his daily recipes which so far have included everything from sausage rolls to gluten-free brownies and beef wellington to vegan curries.

Usually Trinity offers at least 10 hot lunches plus sides, salads and desserts which cater for anybody – even those with the trickiest dietary requirements.

One college spokesperson said Mr Smith and his team get ‘really creative’ for themed meals and even basics like eggs which has added to the hype about eating at the university.

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Julian Smith

The chef says he has been making the dishes as part of his new daily routine and making the meals ‘becomes the main event of the day’.

He said: “The main purpose of my role in the college is that I have overall responsibility for all food production requirements.

“I basically ensure that we make high quality food in a safe way.

“I am furloughed for the foreseeable future and I initially struggled, but after three weeks of family isolation I have finally got some structure and made a daily routine.

“On Sunday I plan the dinner menus for the week – incorporating at least two dishes to write up with pictures for our students.”

He said he usually starts the day with a long dog walk too before reading books for inspiration and then kick-starting his meal preparation.

He said: “At 6pm I start making dinner, this was now turning into my main event of the day.

“In our small family we have one gluten-free pescatarian, one lactose-intolerant vegetarian and an 11-month old baby. So it’s a much smaller version of Trinity College with regards to dietary requirements – minus the baby, of course. I then do the washing up.”

A college spokesperson said: “We are really proud at Trinity to have a reputation for some of the best dining hall food in Oxford – that is a testament to Jules Smith and his amazing team, who put on an amazing variety of dishes week in and week out for our college community."

They added: “It’s hard for all of us to have college closed and not be able to see each other over Jules’ delicious meals in hall, but he’s tackling the situation with his usual energy and creativity –and it goes without saying that we can’t wait until the university and colleges can reopen again and we don’t have to try replicating the dishes ourselves!”