Take your steaks out of the fridge half an hour before you’re going to cook them.

Get a frying pan over a medium heat, scatter in the peppercorns and toast for a minute, then tip into a pestle and mortar or spice blender and roughly grind.

Finely chop the shallot and smash the garlic (still in its skin) with the back of your knife.

Put the frying pan back over a high heat. While it’s heating, drizzle the steaks with 1 tbsp olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Add the steaks to the hot pan along with the bashed garlic. The steak should immediately sizzle when it touches the pan– if not, wait a little longer. Fry the steaks for 2-2 ½ mins on each side for medium rare then transfer to a plate to rest, leaving the garlic in the pan.

Take the pan off the heat and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes, then place back over a medium heat. Add a splash of oil and scrape in the shallot. Fry, stirring occasionally, until golden. Pour in the brandy and use your spoon to scrape any crusty steak bits from the base of the pan.

Once the brandy has reduced by half, pour in the stock. Bubble away for a couple of minutes until reduced by a third then add the double cream and black peppercorns. Cook, stirring well, for 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and the peppercorns are evenly distributed throughout.

Pour the resting juices from the steak into the sauce and season to taste, then serve the steak with the peppercorn sauce and chips, obviously.