I HAVEN’T seen so many women in one place since the Sex and the City premiere in the summer.

You get the feeling that Carrie et al would approve of our locale: city-sophisticated with deep red walls, soft lighting, and enough chocolate to make a red-blooded female go weak at the knees.

“Who doesn’t like pudding?” smiles Todd Moffat, proprietor of taste* on Trinity Street, Dorchester and beneficent inventor of pudding club.

“The concept is simple,” they tell us at taste*. “Just reserve your table and arrive at 7.30pm on the night. We do the rest.”

This wonderful event is normally held on the third Wednesday of every month, but for the festive season, taste* will run pudding clubs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights throughout December.

On arrival we are shown to our table and given a glass of wine and a bowl of olives. It’s a splendid start.

We then choose our main courses: boeuf bourguignon for my partner-in-pudding, smoked salmon and crayfish tail salad for me. Both meals, when they come, are light and tasty and served with garlic bread and salad.

Then the fun begins. The idea behind pudding club, like all great ideas, is deceptively simple: limitless puddings. From the huge selection of desserts – the list usually numbers between 13 and 15 puds – we can sample as many as we like until they run out, or we are full. It will be interesting to see which happens first.

The puddings are all home-made, the recipes trade secrets that Todd has picked up along the way in his long career in catering, though he admits that the baked vanilla cheesecake is the brainchild of his wife Louise.

First, Miriam chooses the Baileys brûlée and I go for the warm liquid chocolate and cognac with marshmallows.

We have decided to do this tactically – each going for different puddings in case we don’t make it through the list alone. It’s teamwork.

Both desserts are served in delicate little coffee cups. And, oh, the liquid loveliness of my chocolate and the brûlée – a pudding club bestseller – is as light and fluffy as a Baileys’ chick. We practically scrape the paint off the cups trying to remove the very last morsel before they are whisked away from us and the next orders are taken: fresh pineapple steeped in sambuca and Belgian waffles with ice cream and maple syrup.

Next up, I choose Greek yoghurt mousse with honey and toasted almonds, a ‘healthy’ option that tastes creamy and decadent, while Miriam opts for a festive spiced apple and almond tart.

We are flagging a little at this stage, but we will not be defeated.

A lighter option is the vodka and orange jelly, which is served in a tiny liqueur glass. We also try the tactfully-sized plate of cheese and biscuits that is just right for rounding off the meal.

We are proud of ourselves for getting through eight of the 13 puds. What is the most anyone has done?

“One man got through 11 out of 13,” says Todd. “And another man was having two at a time because he was worried they would run out. Later in the evening it really takes off and tables start challenging each other to see how many they can get through.”

The word has spread about pudding club – a new concept in Dorchester – and seats fill up quickly, so early booking is essential, as is a £5 deposit.

This month Christmas pudding will be found in the ‘pudding bank’, which is designed by Todd, and served on the night by chefs Donna Rogers and Neil Carter.

“This is a bit different for a Christmas event and people do not drink much anymore,” says Todd, explaining the thinking behind the concept.

And, of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Christmas party Pudding Clubs at Taste run throughout December on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and cost £23.50 a person including a glass of wine, a bowl of olives and a main course. To reserve a table call 01305 257 776. For more information, visit www.tasterestaurant.co.uk