Best of British sporting luncheon in Crawley raises over £12,000 for Chestnut Tree House

Football legend, Sir Geoff Hurst, was the celebrity guest of honour at the first Best of British sporting luncheon held in Crawley in aid of Chestnut Tree House, the children’s hospice for Sussex.

The luncheon, which took place on Friday 9 November 2012 at the Copthorne Hotel, Crawley, attracted over 300 businessmen and businesswomen from the local area and raised at least £12,000 for the children’s hospice, with more funds still to come in.

Guests heard from Dave Poke, father of Alice, one of the young people cared for by the hospice, what it means to have a child with a life-limiting illness and how much the support Chestnut Tree House provides means to his family.

The hospice is currently caring for over 260 children and their families with around 50 of those families coming from Crawley and the surrounding area.  It costs over £2.5 million each year to provide this specialist care yet the hospice receives just 8% of its funding from central government and has to raise the remainder from charitable donations and events like the Best of British.

The Best of British sporting luncheons have also been held in Brighton and over the last three years over £250,000 has been pledged and raised for Chestnut Tree House.

The organisers said, “Chestnut Tree House is a local charity, helping local children and it is extremely heart-warming to see how the generosity of businesses in the Crawley area really can make a huge difference to these very deserving families.  we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for their support – it was amazing.”

ZARI RESTAURANT SUPPORTS LOCAL SUSSEX PRODUCERS

 FOOD FESTIVAL AT ZARI

SUPPORTS LOCAL SUSSEX PRODUCERS

A food festival exploring the cuisine of the city of Lucknow in India, is being staged by a Crawley restaurant in support of food producers in Sussex.

Zari Restaurant in Ifield, is staging its Lucknow Food Festival throughout May 2012, in conjunction with the Sussex Food and Drink Network.

Left to Right: Rama Mannari, Sadique Miah and Almara Miah from Zari Restaurant,
Hilary Knight from Sussex Food & Drink Network,
Chef George Mathew and Tom Steven and his father Glyn Steven from Wobblegate.

A special menu has been created by chefs experienced in the cuisine of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, home to the Taj Mahal and birthplace of Sir Cliff Richard.

Almara Miah, Proprietor of Zari, which has been established for 25 years said: "We want people to explore with us the cuisine styles of India which they may not have experienced in the UK before.

Lucknow is rich in culinary history, mainly driven by the cuisine of the royal rulers, the Nawabs, renowned in India for their ostentatious, dishes in silky smooth sauces. It is the home of the famous Dum Pukht Byriani, slow-cooked  in airtight vessels sealed with dough to retain the richest flavours and aromas. This renowned dish is also on our festival menu.”

Zari Restaurant was founded in 1990 by Sadique Miah, husband to Almara who co-runs Zari with his wife.  

During May, Zari will be hosting Lucknow Cooking Master classes to educate customers in Lucknawi cooking techniques.

The restaurant will also taking the region’s food into the community and at farmers markets.

Local produce involved in the festival includes South Downs lamb, Wobblegate apple juice, local meat from Flanagans Master Butchers, and fruit and vegetables from Laines Organic Farm.

Hilary Knight of the Sussex Food and Drink Network said: "It has never been more important to support local producers for many reasons; food and drink businesses are at the very heart of the rural economy and their survival is paramount in ensuring that we continue to produce food in Sussex and also to provide employment in the rural areas and maintain our landscape.

Left to Right: Sadique and Almara Miah from Zari Restaurant
Hilary Knight from Sussex Food & Drink Network and Tom Steven from Wobblegate.

There is a huge market and many opportunities to sell Local produce via the retail sector both independent and multiples as well as in the hospitality sector – restaurants, caterers, hotels, cafes, pubs etc. Serving Sussex produce really does offer an opportunity to support the producers aswell as giving the customers what they deserve.

Zari is a wonderful example of how a restaurant can use locally sourced seasonal ingredients but not cooked in a traditional or ‘local’ way.”

Zari Restaurant can be found at 212-214 Ifield Drive, Crawley, West Sussex

RH11 0DQ   Tel: 01293 525 107