The UK’s first National Family Week is next week between 25th to 31st May 2009.

As a parent myself, I’m proud to be an ambassador for the week which will see some 2500 events running across the country – including a Guinness World Record-setting picnic on Bank Holiday Monday.

I know as well as anyone how hard it is to spend quality time with the family. So often both parents have to work long hours to make ends meet, and then there are the kids’ school clubs and sports that eat into the evenings and weekends. And don’t forget the homework! When is there time to sit down and enjoy each other’s company?

One of the easiest ways to engage with our family is through mealtimes. Sitting round the dinner table together or having your relatives over for a Sunday Roast followed by some good old-fashioned charades is a hoot. It’s important to sit down together at least once a day even if it’s just for a coffee or for breakfast – mealtimes are not just about food, they are when so many important things are developed like communication skills, manners and solving family problems.

Cooking together is a great way to spend some great quality time. If you have a recipe that is special or unique to your family, make sure you enter it in National Family Week’s Favourite Family Recipe competition, which I am judging. Log on to www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk to enter before the 29th May and the crème de la crème will win a sizzling selection of prizes worth over £1,000. One lucky entrant will also have their recipe selected by Pizza Hut to feature on their menu.

As a chef, I’d encourage you to make time at least once a week to spend time in the kitchen with your children. Let them help you create a simple evening meal or lunch. They’ll enjoy eating healthy nutritious food so much more if they can be involved in cooking from scratch, and a little experimentation won’t do any harm as long as mum and dad are brave enough to try the result! (Tip: take a look at my most recent book, Fast Family Food for some quick family meals if you want to play safe!)

Visit www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk to see all the ways your family can join the fun during National Family Week and make sure you and your family count towards the UK’s attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest picnic. Check online to find what’s on in your area, tool kits to host your own events, ideas for great days out and loads of special offers and fantastic competitions.

Henley Royal Regatta or Henley Festival of Music can be viewed or listened to from the comfort of our original 30ft Slipper Stern Launch Maybe Jaybe or our 30ft traditional wooden river cruiser with facilites Tobillie. A day aboard one of our traditional wooden river boats is the ideal way to enjoy the extraordinary spectacle that is Henley regatta or the Henley Music Festival, allowing you time to wind down and enjoy a glass or two of champagne and a delicious picnic feast.

Let Antony organise all the elements for your perfect Henley outing including a fantastic picnic, fine wines and champagne whilst you cruise up and down the regatta course, watch the racing or enjoy the music festival and take in the atmosphere at your leisure.

Our skippered boats will take up to 6 guests.   Should you have tickets for any of the enclosures we would be delighted to incorporate this into the day or evening and if you have any special requests please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.

Please feel free to bring along anything extra you may require, but please be mindful of limited storage space
Attire: suitably festive dress with warm wraps or jackets a must thanks to our changeable English weather and sensible shoes advisable

Henley Royal Regatta
Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 6th July 2008 midday until 6pm

Henley Festival of Music & Arts
Wednesday 9th – Sunday 13th July 2008 5pm until 11pm

Package includes:
Skippered 30’ boat
½ bottle of champagne per person
½ bottle of Sancerre, Brouilly or Rosé per person
1 bottle mineral water per person
Four course tiffin tin picnic per person
All necessary cutlery and glassware
£1500.00 + vat

Please call Nicola on 0118 940 5901 for availability or email nicola@awtrestaurants.com

At a recent cookery event in Berkhamsted, which raised almost £10,000 for a local charity, Jimmy Doherty from the BBC show, Jimmy's farm,urged people to support farmers.

On Friday (April 18) Jimmy Doherty joined top chef Antony Worrall Thompson and a host of renowned cooks and butchers at the annual Pepper Foundation cookery demonstration at Berkhamsted Collegiate

The hall was packed with 500 people who were wowed as Mr Worrall Thompson cooked up a culinary storm making a chicken kiev and peppercorn steak.

Also during the evening award winning sausage makers and butchers from across the country came together to whip up a variety of pork dishes

Mr Doherty discussed the importance of supporting farmers and the re-introduction of game into our diets. Trainee chef Ashley Walcott, brother of Arsenal football ace Theo Walcott, was also on hand to help.

The BBC food and wine presenter Nigel Barden hosted the evening with fifth generation London butcher David Lidgate. Mr Barden also held an auction at the end of the night. Some of the top prizes included a meal with wine for 14 people at Pied à Terre, which is a 2 Michelin starred restaurant in London, which was bought for £2,500.

The event's organiser, the award winning Gravel Path butcher Joe Collier, said: " It was a wonderful night. Everyone put such a lot of hard work and effort in. I can't thank them enough because the money goes to such a good cause."

The Pepper Foundation is a local charity that cares for seriously ill or terminally ill children in the local community.

Celebrity Chef Antony Worrall Thompson will be making a special appearance in Emmerdale as part of the 5000th episode celebrations. Antony will play himself as a judge at the Pub of the Year competition in scenes to be screened in June.

Marlon will be cooking in a desperate attempt to impress Antony, as the Woolpack competes in the finals to win the Pub of the Year title.

Antony says “I’m a big fan of Emmerdale and had a great time in the Woolpack putting Marlon through his paces.”

Anita Turner, Series Producer says “We were delighted that Antony was available to make this cameo appearance for us in what is going to be a fun-filled episode to celebrate the 5000 landmark.”

An Oxfordshire primary school cook is set to shed her school apron and don gourmet chef’s whites to cook alongside three of the region’s top chefs later this year.

Sandra Dick, Cook at Crowmarsh Gifford C of E Primary School is delighted to have been personally invited to cook alongside celebrity chefs Antony Worrall Thompson, The Crooked Billet’s Paul Clerehugh and leading game chef Mike Robinson at a charity fundraising function in May. And the event is already a sell-out!

‘I never dreamt I’d ever get to meet these guys, never mind cook with them,’ said Sandra, who has proved a great success at the school since starting last September (2007). ‘They asked me if I’d help them when they visited school to discuss our charity fundraising night. I couldn’t believe it  - I’m over the moon.’

The novel idea of cooking a gourmet three course meal for 150 guests first came up after the chefs were approached by the school’s health team for help with fundraising for vital kitchen equipment to enable the school to continue and build upon their hugely successful new school dinners.

Local chef, Paul Clerehugh (Crooked Billet, Stoke Row and London Street
Brasserie, Reading) has championed school meals for many years.  A father
of three, he is passionate about children's nutrition.  Paul provided
daily meals to his village school, Stoke Row Primary C of E, for two
years.  He was consultant to the second series of Jamie Oliver's "Jamie’s
Dinners" who filmed Paul's lunches at Stoke Row School.  He wrote the
school meals’ information pack for HRH Prince Charles' Pub is the Hub
initiative.  Paul also works with Jeanette Orrey - the original Jamie’s
Dinner Lady and Prue Leith in her capacity as Chair of the School Meals
Trust.

Paul was so impressed with Crowmarsh Primary School’s determination to
provide delicious healthy nutritious meals for its pupils that he
persuaded Antony Worral Thompson and Mike Robinson to help raise funds
for new catering equipment at the school.  Paul praised school cook Sandra
for her passion and determination and for preparing imaginative tasty
dishes from such a tiny kitchen.  ‘The team effort from parents, teachers,
head teacher and Sandra is astonishing.’ said Paul who singled out mums Claire Hyde, Maria Wilson and Georgina Gold for getting the ball rolling and their vision.

Head teacher Barbara O’Dwyer is looking forward to the gourmet evening. ‘This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to sample the delights of great British food cooked by great chefs,’ she said. ‘We hope to raise enough money to assist with kitchen ventilation and equipment costs. Now we have over 100 cooked lunches a day we need to make sure our cook, Sandra remains 'cool ' and efficient.’

Uptake of school dinners at Crowmarsh Primary School has soared since Sandra was recruited to cook fresh healthy meals from scratch onsite. Prior to Sandra’s arrival, the school only offered food that was prepared elsewhere and elsewhere and reheated onsite. Numbers opting for school meals sometimes fell as low as 10 but now Sandra and her team regularly serve up 100 plus meals. And with 200 pupils at the school, there’s plenty of opportunity to increase numbers even more.

Change came about via parent power. They decided they weren’t happy with the standard of the food served up and led a campaign to opt out of the county council scheme. Supported by both the head teacher and governors, members of the school’s health team visited other schools to see what was on offer and, after extensive research, opted for High Wycombe based Educational Catering consultants Food For Thought for advice and practical help.

The Black Tie event will take place at Benson Parish Hall on Saturday May 17th and will also feature a Grand Auction of donated prizes including four places at The Mike Robinson Game and Wild Food Cookery School, a  two hour introduction to polo at Ascot Park Polo Club, a sightseeing flight and a widescreen TV.