Pets cook up some real dogs’ dinners
Forget Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay. The latest must-have cook book is for dogs and, ahem, by dogs.
Tilly and Mungo, mother and son Jackadoodles, have collaborated with owners Chris and Caroline Trotter to produce The Hairy Bakers, a recipe book of healthy doggy snacks.
And Chris insists the dishes are not only delicious to dogs but will have practical benefits for owners.
Banana Barkottis is filled with fibre to combat that common doggie problem, flatulence.
Another tasty treat, Breath Fresheners are made with herbs and help with another doggy issue – halitosis.
And forget biscuits, a few mouthfuls of sweet potato wedges with cinnamon and turmeric is just the job to give pooches a nice, shiny coat.
The couple, from Upper Largo, drew inspiration for The Hairy Bakers from eight-yearold Tilly and Mungo, aged five.
A food commentator for the BBC and also Fife’s Food Ambassador, Chris added: “The treats Tilly and Mungo enjoy are very cheap to make and can be rustled up from leftovers.”
Chris compiled the recipes while his award-winning photographer wife Caroline created the striking images using local pets as models.
“We have a place near us that has a swimming pool to help rehabilitate injured dogs,” Chris said. “The dogs go in the pool to help heal
conditions such as broken bones and arthritis. Our dogs are pretty healthy and we figured the treats we make for them might have something to do with that.
“It then seemed a logical step to share these ideas.”
As he is a well-known food writer, at first Chris didn’t want to be associated with recipes for dogs.
“But at the end of the day pets are like us – they are what they eat,” he said.
“Fresh herbs such as parsley and thyme are readily available and help take that doggie bad breath away while a touch of banana, peanut butter or even some eggs or tuna is good for their coats and digestion.” “We hope to take Mungo and Tilly on a tour of bookshops,” Chris added.
“We’ve had a special paw print made which can be dipped in an ink pad they can use to sign autographs.”