A MONTH IN THE LIFE OF…
the first lady of marmalade, Jane Hasell-mccosh
Founder of the World Marmalade Awards, Jane Hasell-mccosh prepares for the annual competition to find the best and zestiest orange preserve
In March, we go marmalade mad at Dalemain – a country estate near Penrith and my home of 40 years. Anyone can enter our World Marmalade Awards, whether they’re an expert or a complete novice. We have categories for bell ringers, gardeners, children and octogenarians. Some entrants are over 100 years old.
The original idea was to encourage tourists back to Cumbria
after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2005. Sixty jars were submitted for the first event. Now, we get 3,000 from all over the world – as far as South Korea and Australia.
Ten thousand visitors usually attend our two-day Marmalade Festival in mid-march. It begins with the award ceremony, when the winner is presented with a silver spoon made by a Cumbrian silversmith. Local children sing ‘The Marmalade Song’ and there are cookery demonstrations. This year will be different: we’re not having the festival, but the competition, which has always been the focus, is definitely going ahead.
Jars start arriving through the post in December. It’s exciting to come across something new – like horseradish, Marmite or seaweed marmalade – but nothing beats a well-produced Seville orange. Jars should be filled to the top and labelled clearly. I love artistic labels: we once received one designed by Damien Hirst. We put it in our Marmalade Museum in the old butler’s bedroom. Fortnum & Mason sell the winning jar, which is made commercially to the exact recipe by small-scale producer Thursday Cottage. The winning jar is also displayed in our state rooms. Last year’s winner was ‘Dark and Chunky’ by Jonathan Hamel Cooke from Buckinghamshire. Judging is anonymous (entrants put their names on the bottom of the jar) but often the same people rise to the surface. We have 16 guest judges, including members of the Penrith WI and celebrity chef and food writer Dan Lepard.
Penrith usually ‘goes orange’ for the awards, although sadly not this year. Ordinarily, shop windows are decorated and fruit hangs from the lampposts. We even dye our flock of sheep for the event. There’s a special service in the local church, which is decorated with marmalade jars. We invite visiting preachers – but they must bring a jar of marmalade. The Dean of Canterbury makes an exceptionally good batch.
Through the awards, we raise money for a local charity, Hospice at Home Carlisle & North Lakeland, as well as hospices across the world. The work they do is so important right now. We’ve raised well over £250,000 over the years – all from jars of preserve.
Prince Charles tasted some of our marmalade when he visited in 2018. But he isn’t our only celebrity guest: Paddington Bear comes every year, an appearance organised by the Girl Guides. His creator Michael Bond always supported the festival, too.
Marmalade goes back a long way in my family.
One of my husband’s ancestors, Elizabeth Rainbow, made some of the earliest versions. She lived in the 17th century and we still have her leather-bound recipe book. Our ‘Bishop’s Marmalade’ is made according to her original method and you can buy it from our onsite shop.
I think my marmalade is the best – but I would say that.
I made it with my mother when I was a child. Now, it’s something I share with my grown-up children, Hermione, George and Beatrice. Making this bubbling orange preserve is a thing of joy during darker months. It’s powerful to think we’re sharing this ‘marmalade moment’ with people all over the world.