for themselves. Ms Janette Rose's orange souffle and grateau McMohan were awarded a gold medal at this month's Agricultural Exhibition, while the pear Arenberg and chocolate mousse "money bag'' of Ms Linda Desormeaux took the silver.

*** ORANGE SOUFFLE 2 whole oranges 2 oz. sugar 4 gelatin leaves 1 tbsp. corn starch Whipped cream to taste 2 small orange leaves SLICE a thin piece of rind from the bottom of each orange so that they sit comfortably on a tray. Cut about a quarter of an inch from the top of the oranges, leaving the stem still in place. Set tops aside.

Scoop out the pulp from the oranges, squeeze and strain. Mix pulp with the sugar and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add gelatin. Dissolve the corn starch and add to mixture. Place mixture on top of ice and whip it until it begins to turn to jelly. Add whipped cream.

Spoon mixture into piping bag and pipe back into empty orange shells. Replace the tops of the oranges and garnish with orange leaves. Place the souffle-filled oranges onto plate and decorate with orange slices, an orange sauce and/or small oranges that have been fashioned out of marzipan.

*** GRATEAU MCMOHAN Filling 8 oz. strawberry puree 3 egg yolks 3 oz. sugar 5 gelatin leaves (soaked in ice water) 3 pt. whipped cream A few drops red food colouring Pastry 8 oz. sugar pastry Decoration Fondant, a soft sweetmeat of flavoured sugar A few drops strawberry essence A few drops red food colouring TO make the pastry portion of the grateau, roll sugar pastry out into two rounded shapes. Fit one of the rounds into a flan ring. Cut the other round into eight triangles. Bake all of the pastry in a hot oven.

To make filling, cream sugar and egg yolks in a bowl and mix in warmed strawberry puree. Place mixture in a saucepan and stir over low flame. Do not let the mixture boil. Add gelatin to the mixture and adjust the colour if necessary with red food colouring. Let mixture cool before adding whipped cream.

Line the interior of the flan ring with greased proof papers before pouring in mixture. Warm the fondant in an oven double boiler until "blood'' temperature and soft. Divide fondant into two portions. Colour one of the portions with the red food colouring, adding a few drops of strawberry essence for taste.

Coat four of the eight pastry triangles with the white fondant and four with the red. Place the triangles on top of the puree, alternating each of the pieces to form a pattern.

*** CHOCOLATE MOUSSE "MONEY BAG'' Large Crepe 4 oz. flour 1 egg 1 pt. milk 1 oz. melted butter Mousse 2 egg yolks 4 gelatin leaves 2 oz. sugar 1 pt. milk 1 pt. whipped cream Decoration Cocoa powder Marzipan ribbon Chocolate mints TO make crepe, gradually blend egg and milk with flour, whisking to smooth the batter; mix in melted butter.

Heat a crepe pan with a little oil until smoking, leaving just enough to thinly cover pan. Add the mixture to pan, heat until brown and turn to finish cooking. Crepe should be large and thin.

To make mousse, soak gelatin leaves in cold water and set aside. Cream egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until almost white, then whisk in milk that has been brought to a boil, mixing well. Place mixture in a thick-bottomed saucepan and cook until it coats the back of a spoon. Do not boil. Remove the mixture from heat and add dissolved gelatin. Strain the mixture and fold in whipped cream.

Let mixture set in refrigerator.

Once set, place mixture into piping bag and pipe onto crepe. Tie the resulting "money bag'' with marzipan ribbon and dust lightly with cocoa powder. Pipe dollar signs onto chocolate mints to garnish.

*** PEAR ARENBERG 4 large pears 2 egg yolks 1 oz. castor sugar 2 to 3 drops vanilla 1 pt. milk 1 pt. whipped cream Mint essence as required Green food colouring as required Mint leaves POACH, peel and drain each pear. Level bottoms and set aside.

Make a fresh egg custard or sauce a l'anglaise by mixing yolks, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Boil milk, whisk into mixture and heat in thick-bottomed pan over low flame. Stir mixture with wooden spoon until back of the spoon is coated. Do not allow to boil. Fold in whipped cream and mix well.

Coat each of the pears entirely with mixture and cool in refrigerator. Repeat three times. Place remaining mixture, mint essence and green food colouring into piping bag and pipe onto both pears and plates to desired design. Garnish with mint leaves.