Cointreau twist helps Fiona Bird to claim Lady Marmalade crown
Angus food campaigner and author Fiona Bird has made a tasty morning her preserve after claiming the crown of Lady Marmalade.
Fiona.
- By Graham Brown
- Published in the Courier : 15.02.11
- Published online : 15.02.11 @ 01.54pm
Against opposition from across the globe, the mum — whose mission is to make family cooking fun — has scooped the Merry Marmalade prize in the World's Original Marmalade Awards and Festival.
Over 1100 marmalade makers from all over the world sent their jars to be judged at the weekend festival near Penrith in Cumbria and a secret family recipe proved the key to success for the Kids' Kitchen author.
A delighted Fiona, who encourages youngsters to enjoy time in the kitchen through her Stirrin' Stuff campaign, revealed a new twist had helped the family's favourite tickle the taste buds of competition judges.
"I make Seville orange marmalade each January, using my grandmother Dorothy Murray's recipe," she told The Courier. "I boil the marmalade in a Murray family preserving pan which belonged to my grandfather's great-aunt and this year, for the first time, I added Cointreau after the rolling boil and some bay leaves as I poached the Sevilles.
"I chose bay leaves because my bay tree is one of the few garden herbs to have survived this cold Scottish winter."
Environment minister Lord Henley pipped a strong field to the best in show title at the awards with his traditional recipe and, alongside Fiona, the event's other winners included a triumphant team of 11 marmalade makers from Buninyong in Australia who had challenged a team from Britain to a MarmalAshes contest.
An enthusiast from the British Virgin Islands scooped the international award and over 150 Guides also helped to make the world's largest jar of marmalade at the gathering.
Organiser Jane Hasell-McCosh said, "The standard of entries has gone up hugely and we have been overwhelmed by the number. We've also seen a marked increase in entries sent in from all parts of the UK and from abroad, countries as far afield as Japan and Australia.
"It's been a fantastic success."
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