Chefs sign up to choose recipes for charity’s new book

PATIENTS, families and supporters are being asked to help contribute to a new charity cookbook.

The aim of the new book by Velindre Cancer Centre is to help cancer patients enjoy their food while going through treatment.

It will contain 40 recipes from patients and their families, which will be selected by a panel of chefs.

Nine chefs have signed up so far, including those from Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as renowned award winners.

They are Chris Harrod from The Whitebrook, Angela Gray who runs her cooking school at Llanarch Vineyard, Padrig Jones, Anand George from Purple Poppadom, Samantha Evans and Shauna Guinn of Hang Fire Southern Kitchen, Shaun Hill, Stephen Gomes from Moksh and Stephen Terry from the Hardwick Restaurant. Some have also submitted recipes.

The project is being run by Ceri Harris. She said: “Patients going through cancer treatment can often lose their appetite, or find themselves focusing on the nutritional aspects of food rather food enjoyment.

“We want to be able to support them to do both, to see eating and diet as something they can still enjoy with family and friends, rather than it being a necessity, and to remind them of happy times with recipes that they may remember from special occasions, their childhood or that may have been passed down through generations.”

People are being asked to submit their recipe nominations to the panel.

Each of the recipes will then be cooked up and captured by a top food photographer to feature in the book, with Velindre dietitians providing helpful information and nutritional tips about alternative ingredients.

It will then be launched to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the NHS on July 5, 2018.

“We’ve had the most amazing response from chefs in Wales to the idea of this cookbook and we are very excited about working with them to bring it to life,” Ceri added.

Recipe suggestions can be submitted to the Velindre Cook Book project via email to ceri.harris3@wales.nhs.uk or by post to Velindre NHS Trust HQ, 2 Charnwood Court, Nantgarw Park, Cardiff CF15 7QZ, or online at www. surveymonkey/r/Velindrecookbook.

The closing date for recipes is October 31.