JamieOliver.com

Thu 29 Oct 2009 @ 14:21
Danny McCubbin

Jamie is among over 100 top chefs and celebrities who have contributed recipes to A Salute to Cooking, a new book in support of the Chelsea Pensioners, the scarlet-coated residents of The Royal Hospital Chelsea. A Salute to Cooking has a recipe to suit any occasion and every level of culinary expertise. Jamie provided his delicious Honeymoon Spaghetti recipe for this great cause. Some of the celebrity recipes include Boris Johnson’s down-to-earth Cheese on Toast, Jeremy Clarkson’s Beans à la Clarkson and James Blunt’s Pizza Supper, through to some more unusual contributions such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s BBQ’d Grouse Stuffed with Haggis and Joanna Lumley’s Sephardic Orange Cake.

On sale now, A Salute to Cooking, can be ordered from the Royal Hospital Chelsea website and will be sold in the Royal Hospital shop in the grounds of the Royal Hospital. All profits from A Salute to Cooking will go towards the Chelsea Pensioners’ Appeal, a fundraising campaign to transform the current living accommodation (windowless, nine foot square ‘berths’) into modern study bedrooms with en-suite facilities.

A Salute To Cooking has been created and compiled by Angela Currie, wife of the Royal Hospital Chelsea’s Lieutenant Governor, Major General APN Currie CB. Angela explains: “The Royal Hospital is a unique institution and we wanted to produce a book that reflected the wit and special character of the place and of the Pensioners. I have been overwhelmed by the support we have been shown – from those who already knew about the Royal Hospital and its fundraising campaign, to those who are hearing of it for the first time. Everyone who buys this book can be confident the proceeds are going to an extremely good cause.”

The Royal Hospital Chelsea was founded in 1682 to care for old and injured soldiers. Today it is home to some 300 Pensioners, men and women, providing then with a stimulating living environment. Veterans are eligible to become Chelsea Pensioners if they have served as soldiers in the British Army, are over 65 years old, and have nobody dependent on them. On entry they surrender their military pension and any War Disability Pension they may have. The average age of Pensioners is 83.

The Royal Hospital Chelsea launched the Chelsea Pensioners’ Appeal in 2004 to fund the biggest development campaign in the Hospital’s history:
• Phase I saw the building of a new infirmary, The Margaret Thatcher Infirmary, which was opened on time and on budget in March 2009.
• Phase II is now underway. This will provide 34 modernised study bedrooms with en-suite facilities and the completion date is April 2010.
• Phase III is to complete the renovation of the old living accommodation and it is this which is the focus of current fundraising activity.

Charles McLaughlin a Chelsea Pensioner says, “We are thrilled that so many well-known people
have shown such commitment to support the Chelsea Pensioners and the fundraising campaign through the cookbook.”

You can purchase the book and find more information on The Royal Hospital at www.chelsea-pensioners.org.uk

About the author: Danny McCubbin is the website editor for JamieOliver.com