Combine the sliced shallots, minced garlic and tied thyme sprigs in a medium saucepan. Pour over the dry Madeira, ruby port, white port and brandy.

Cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for 24 hours.

Place the saucepan of marinated shallots and alcohol over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring regularly, until nearly all the liquid has evaporated and the shallots are soft and jammy. Be careful not to let them scorch. Remove from heat, discard the thyme bundle, and allow the reduction to cool slightly.

Preheat your oven to 100°C (no fan). Place a deep bain-marie or roasting tray with 5cm of hot water inside the oven to heat up.

Preheat your water bath or sous-vide circulator to 50°C.

Sprinkle the 18g of salt over the trimmed chicken livers and place them in a sous-vide bag. Place the eggs and the shallot-alcohol reduction together in a second sous-vide bag. Place the warm melted butter in a third bag. Seal all three bags under full vacuum (or use the water displacement method with zip-lock bags). Submerge all three bags in the 50°C water bath for 20 minutes.

Remove all three bags from the water bath. Pour the eggs and reduction into a high-powered blender (e.g. Thermomix). Add the livers. Blend at 50°C (or set blender to maintain this temperature) until completely smooth, approximately 1–2 minutes.

With the blender running, slowly stream in the warm melted butter and blend until fully emulsified and very smooth. This should take about 1–2 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean jug, pressing firmly with the back of a small ladle to extract maximum volume. Discard any fibrous residue.

Pour the strained parfait mixture into a terrine dish. Place the terrine dish into the preheated bain-marie in the oven and cover the entire bain-marie tightly with aluminium foil.

Bake until the parfait's core temperature reaches exactly 64°C — check with a digital probe thermometer. This typically takes 45–75 minutes at 100°C depending on the depth of the terrine.

Remove the terrine from the oven and bain-marie. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover the surface directly with clingfilm to prevent oxidisation. Refrigerate for 24 hours before proceeding.

Submerge the gelatine leaves in cold water and soak for 5 minutes until softened.

Gently warm the mandarin purée and liquid glucose in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until fully combined. Do not boil.

Squeeze excess water from the softened gelatine leaves and add them to the warm purée. Stir continuously until fully dissolved.

Remove from the heat. Add the mandarin oil drops and paprika extract (or gel colour), stirring well until the colour is homogeneous and intensely orange.

Pass through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until needed. The jelly will set firm in the fridge — it will be re-melted gently before use.

Remove the set parfait from the refrigerator. Scrape off and discard any slightly oxidised surface layer.

Using a spoon, firmly press parfait into the cavities of half-sphere dome silicone moulds (approx. 6–7 cm diameter). Ensure there are no air pockets and the surface is completely smooth. Level off the flat tops. Press a piece of clingfilm directly onto each filled mould surface.

Place the moulds on a flat tray in the freezer. Freeze until the parfait is completely solid, at least 4–6 hours or overnight.

Remove the frozen parfait domes from the freezer. Carefully de-mould each dome onto a cold board with the flat side facing upward.

Working quickly with two domes at a time, very briefly pass the flame of a blowtorch over both flat sides — just enough to barely melt the surface so it becomes tacky (1–2 seconds maximum).

Immediately press the two flat sides together firmly to join them into a complete sphere. Wrap tightly in a square of clingfilm, twisting and compressing to ensure a perfect join. Re-wrap each sphere in a fresh layer of clingfilm.

Gently push one wooden cocktail stick into the round top of each sphere, through the clingfilm. Return all the wrapped spheres to the freezer for at least 1 hour until completely re-frozen solid.

Gently melt the set mandarin jelly in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Allow it to cool to room temperature — it should be liquid but just beginning to thicken. Test on a cold metal spoon: the jelly should set within about 5 seconds. If it sets too fast it is too cold; if it runs off without setting it is too warm.

Remove each sphere from the freezer one at a time. Unwrap the clingfilm carefully. Holding the cocktail stick, dip the frozen parfait sphere completely into the mandarin jelly, submerge and lift out in one smooth motion.

Stand the stick upright by inserting it through a piece of clingfilm stretched over a container (or a florist's oasis block) so the sphere hangs free without touching any surface. Refrigerate for 1 minute to set the first layer.

Repeat the dipping process two more times (3 dips total), refrigerating for 1 minute between each dip, to build up an even, realistic skin. The colour should look intensely and unnaturally orange.

After the final dip, place the spheres on a tray lined with clingfilm. Carefully remove the cocktail sticks. Cover the tray loosely and transfer to the refrigerator to defrost slowly for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Once fully defrosted, gently take each sphere in your hand and use your thumb to press a slight indent into the top centre, mimicking the characteristic dimple of a mandarin orange. You can also lightly roughen the surface with your fingertips through the jelly skin for a more realistic peel texture.

Push a small stalk (dried mandarin stalk or short woody herb stem) and a fresh bay leaf or mandarin leaf into the top indent to complete the illusion.

Serve immediately at cool room temperature on a clean white plate or slate. Accompany with grilled sourdough or toasted brioche soldiers.