Hats off to Kate Holderness who won the Freedom Food Compassionate Cook Award 2013.
Kate’s recipe Mexican Chilli Con Sausage won the judges’ favour and the top prize of a year’s worth of shopping from The Co-operative Food, worth £4,000.
Contestants needed to impress judges by uploading a short cooking video showing how to make their favourite, simple dish using Freedom Food and Fairtrade ingredients.
Judges were wowed by Kate’s simple but achievable recipe, a good twist on the everyday dish. She also entertained and explained the need to buy Freedom Food and Fairtrade Foundation products.
TV chef and judge Paul Merrett said: “She’s fantastic – give this girl her own show! I loved the deadpan delivery and her sense of humour is fabulous – she’s a telly natural.”
Freedom Food launched its cooking contest in a bid to get people thinking more about the welfare of the animals that produce our food. Sadly Britain is known as the ready meal capital of Western Europe. An estimated £3.8 billion was spent on ready meals, pies and pasties last year in Britain according to Mintel.
TV chef and Compassionate Cook judge, Sophie Wright, explained the competition looked for cooks with the ‘compassion’ factor. Unsung cooking heroes with flair, personality and chasarisma. Not fancy chefs using fancy ingredients, just good honest cooks who can create delicious, yet simple dishes that can be made at home
Preston born actress Kate has appeared in TV programmes such as Emmerdale, Heartbeat and Coronation Street.
Watch her cooking Mexican Chilli Con Sausage below: