Chocolate is good for you. So says former chef Jeff Peters.

According to Mr Peters, who has worked with Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aitken, chocolate itself will not make you fat, give you spots or cause headaches. In fact, he says there are many health benefits of chocolate.

He tells People: “Chocolate contains antioxidants which prevent heart disease and cancer. They prevent fatty substances from clogging the arteries.”

Such an advocate of the stuff is he that Mr Peters, 39, is helping others to cook with it. He is hosting a two-day class in cooking with chocolate, with proceeds going to Dreams Come True, a charity that grants wishes to terminally-ill children.

“It’s the cheap chocolate that’s bad for you — the kind that’s about 20 per cent chocolate and 80 per cent cheap fat. So what’s good chocolate? “Lindt. Don’t binge on Mars bars.”

Mr Peters set up the school last year in memory of his mother, Linda, who died from cancer. He will be teaching aspiring chefs to make chocolate pudding with a melting centre, among other chocolate dishes. Tempted? Go to www.charitycookschool.com