If like us you are craving your favourite tasty takeaways as fast food joints are shut during lockdown then fear not - we have a solution.

We asked Kent chefs to put their own spin on popular treats and they didn't disappoint, serving up their own versions of McDonald's, Burger King and KFC meals - and even throwing in a kebab for good measure.

Burger King Whopper with cheese

Rob Mantegna is second-in-command in the kitchen at the award-winning Dog in Wingham, which serves up Britain's best pub food.

But the 26-year-old's career already includes spells at Eastwell Manor near Ashford and the Michelin-starred Sportsman at Seasalter.

Here, he has used his considerable culinary skills to elevate two fast food favourites - the Burger King Whopper and a lamb kebab.

"With a little bit of time and care, and the right ingredients, it's possible to bring some special flair and flavour to these popular takeaways," he says.

"As well as that, you have the satisfaction of making it yourself."

Here is Rob's take on the Whopper which he recommends cooking on a barbecue for the best results.

Of course, you can easily buy nice brioche buns - but being a chef, Rob prefers to make his own.

What you'll need:

• 2 red onions
• 200ml white wine vinegar
• 200g sugar

• 1kg lean beef mince, 10% fat - to make four good-sized burgers
• 2 large white onions, finely diced

• 2 slices Monterey Jack cheese

• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 large tomato

Method:

Make a pickled red onion mix, using two thinly-sliced red onions.

Mix white wine vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt in a pan and bring to the boil. Pour the mix over the red onion making sure they are completely covered and leave to cool in the fridge for later.

For the burger patties, sweat the onion and garlic slowly until soft, set aside to cool.

Add to the beef mince in a bowl with a good pinch of salt and black pepper and mix well.

Put a drop of oil into a heated pan, take a small amount of mix and squash to form a patty, now fry the patty for two minutes each side. Allow to cool slightly, then taste check and season accordingly.

Now divide the mix into four generous burger-shaped portions. Place on a tray covered with clingfilm and put in the fridge for later.

Cook on a well-heated barbecue - alternatively, add a small amount of oil to a pan on the hob, sear each side until golden and place in the oven for 12 minutes.

Then add the barbecue sauce of your choice and two slices of Monterey Jack cheese to each burger and put back in the oven for a further two minutes.

Now build your burger with lettuce first, followed by tomato, burger then the pickled onions.

"The real challenge is attempting to eat it," says Rob.

"Don't be modest and try using a knife and fork... use both hands and dig right in!"

Lamb koftas

Many of us will have a drunken tradition of buying a kebab after a night out (remember those?), or equally enjoying it when we are sober.

Rob serves his mouthwatering lamb koftas with cumin flatbread, roasted Romana peppers and a tzatziki dip.

What you'll need:

• 1kg minced lamb
• 1 red pepper, stalk, seeds and white, finely diced
• 2 red onions, finely diced
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• Bunch of coriander, finely-chopped using both leaves and stalks
• 2 tablespoons of garam masala
• 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
• Salt and black pepper

Tzatziki dip ingredients:

• 1 cucumber

• Bunch of finely-chopped mint, minus the stalks
• 600g greek yoghurt

Cumin flatbread ingredients:

• 300g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 150ml water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds

Method:

First blacken the whole skin of the peppers on a skewer, either by using a kitchen blowtorch or the gas ring.

Place in a bowl/tray and cover tightly with clingfilm and leave to steam for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the tzatziki dip.

Top and tail and coarsely grate the cucumber, sprinkle with salt and mix and set aside.

Peel off all the black bits of the peppers, removing as much as possible. Remove the stalk and seeds.

Thinly dice the peppers and place in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of salt, set aside for later.

Squeeze the excess water out of the cucumber. Place in a bowl and add plain Greek yoghurt, lime zest and chopped mint. Test for seasoning then place in the fridge for later.

For the cumin flatbread, add all the ingredients to a bowl and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, alternatively you can use a stand mixer. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Now the lamb koftas. Add all the ingredients and the lamb mince to a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Make a small patty and fry for two minutes each side. Allow to cool, taste and season as needed.

Now divide the mix into eight balls, take each ball and roll into a 10cm long sausage shape. Take a wooden skewer and push through the middle of the kebab.

By now your barbecue should be hot and ready.

Otherwise, use a pan to seal the whole kebab until golden brown, then place in the oven for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into eight balls and roll out as thin as possible, warm a heavy based frying pan and put a little drizzle of vegetable oil, cook the flatbread for two minutes each side.

Serve each of the components on plates that let people help themselves and build their own wrap.

KFC six-piece family feast

KFC lovers can now recreate it at home - but with a twist.

General manager of The Red Lion in Stodmarsh, near Canterbury, Morgan Lewis has concocted a version of a six-piece family feast called Kentucky Fried Rabbit (KFR) - but you can still use chicken, if desired.

"For a lot of people the rabbit thing may seem hard to get on board with," Morgan said.

"But consider the endless positives of eating wild meat compared to mass-farmed meat, from an animal welfare perspective to a diminished environmental impact.

"So before you skip the rabbit - excuse the pun - and hop straight back into your mass-farmed meat comfort zone, give it a chance. You really might like it."

But if you don't fancy rabbit, Morgan recommends guinea fowl, which is sold in most good supermarkets, or (of course) chicken - but try to source one which is free range and corn-fed.

What you'll need:

• 1 whole large wild rabbit (for 2 people)
• 4 free range eggs

• 80ml single cream
• Table salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 twigs of rosemary
• 3 bay leaves

• Bunch of thyme
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Spice mix:

• 2 and a half cups plain flour
• 2/3 tablespoon salt

• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/3 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• 4 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons ground white pepper

Method

Use a sharp knife to carefully joint the rabbit. There will be two forelegs (which are like chicken wings), two back legs (which are like drumsticks) and two saddle loins (which are like breasts).

Fill a pot big enough to completely cover the meat with cold water to marinade it in brine.

Weigh 6% of the water's weight in table salt (for example, 1000g water = 60g salt) and add it to the brine. Chuck in a couple of smashed cloves of garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, thyme and crushed black peppercorns - then stir.

Place the jointed rabbit into the brine and leave for up to 48 hours in the fridge to tenderise it.

While the meat is brining, take all of the spice mix ingredients and blend on high for a minute, or mix as well as you can with your hands.

Remove the rabbit from the brine and give it a rinse under cold water and pat dry with kitchen roll.

Heat a deep fat fryer with some clean, neutral oil to 170°C, or a pot on the hob with extreme caution and a sugar thermometer in the oil at all times monitoring temperature.

Make a coating station by whisking four eggs and 80ml of single cream together in a shallow, wide container and place the spice mix in another similar container.

Toss the rabbit in the dry mix first, covering very well, then transfer to the egg mix, agitate very well to fully coat, then transfer back to the dry mix and make sure it’s completely covered.

Once all the pieces are coated, fry them for about five minutes until just crisp, lift them to rest for a minute in the basket, then fry again until golden.

Do this in batches so the pieces have space and make sure the fryer gets back to temperature before starting another fry. You can hold cooked pieces in a preheated oven at 120°C while you cook the rest.

Morgan adds: "Enjoy with the hottest sauce you can handle, some cheesy loaded potato skins, good company and a movie you’ve seen 10 times."

McDonald's McMuffin

When we see those golden arches, we breathe a sigh of relief and know everything is going to be okay.

The McDonald's McMuffin is probably one of the greatest remedies for tackling early mornings and hangovers - and that's why we love them.

Morgan has shared his recipe for the ultimate breakfast, and we are sure you will not be disappointed.

What you’ll need:

• Best quality free range eggs
• English muffins

Sausage patties:

• 500g pork mince
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon very fine minced parsley
• 1 heaped tablespoon fine breadcrumbs

• 12g salt
• Ground white pepper to taste

The cheese:

• 125ml whole milk
• 2 leaves of silver gelatine

• 350g hard or semi hard cheese, you can make a blend of your favourites (Morgan recommends Red Leicester and Old Amsterdam gouda)
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Method

Season your mince with garlic powder, salt, white pepper, very finely chopped parsley and damp breadcrumbs. Weigh into 80g balls and set aside in the fridge the night before.

For the cheese, choose a blend of hard cheeses which suit you. Prepare a wide, shallow baking tray (about 35cm x 20cm) which is non-stick or lined with a single layer of cling film.

Grate all the cheese and put into a food processor which has a chute, soak the gelatine leaf in the milk until jelly-like, remove and set aside.

Add butter and milk to a saucepan. Put it on the hob and heat it until it is close to a boil. Turn the heat down and stir in the gelatine until completely dissolved.

Bring the heat back up to an almost boil and once the gelatine has dissolved, start the food processor blending on full power and steadily pour the hot milk into the cheese through the chute.

Once the mix is very smooth and glossy, put the mix back into a saucepan and place over a very low heat, stirring constantly until it becomes pourable - but don’t let it get too hot as it will split.

Pour it out onto your tray and make a thin, even spread. Put it in the fridge overnight to set. Cut into squares when you want to use it.

For the muffins, start heating a flat non-stick frying pan to medium heat with a dash of oil.

Put two of the meatballs in and let them sizzle briefly, then squash them flat to be a little wider than the muffin.

Cook them on one side until caramelised then flip and do the same. Stack them and hold in a 120°C oven.

For the eggs, butter up a metal ring cutter which matches the size of your muffins, place it in the hot pan and crack an egg in there.

Release it from the ring once white. You can flip it over if you're that way inclined or for a runnier yolk, hold in the bottom of the oven with the muffins.

Cut the muffin in half and toast them. Take the meat patties and put back in the pan with a slice of cheese between two. Wait for the cheese to ooze out then stack the egg on top and put into the toasted muffin.

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