Damson lovers are in for a feast of delights later this year when the Westmorland Damson Association hosts a delicious evening of damson revelry at Crosthwaite Village Hall on September 29. The £25 a head tickets (which include a bottle of wine per couple) include a mouth-watering menu prepared by local chef Nick Martin with dishes including roast Cumbrian chicken marinated with thyme, damsons and bay leaves, and damson syllabub with Amaretti crumble. There will also be a damson vegetarian option dish. Sedbergh School string quartet and Fiona Hanley and her group un-plugged' (as heard at damson day) will provide the entertainment; there will be a display of damson products and sponsors' products available to purchase after the meal. The tickets are selling fast so to be sure of yours call John Holmes, of the Westmorland Damson Association, on 01539-568599 or email Michelle Partington on food@savin-hill.co.uk A LAKE District restaurant has been given a makeover by two of the country's top chefs.

The Bay Café at the Waterhead Hotel, in Ambleside, now has a more extensive menu, as well as a fresh look, thanks to the expertise of award-winning chef Steven Doherty and Lee Jeynes, the captain of the Welsh National Culinary Team. Lee, who has joined English Lakes Hotels as group development chef, said: "We wanted to give The Bay Café a more informal feel and put a much stronger emphasis on local produce." Ingredients on the new menu include Thornby Moor goat's cheese, Eden Valley roast chicken, John Stott's Cartmel Valley Cumberland sausage and Grasmere Gingerbread. Steven is working for English Lakes Hotels, which owns The Waterhead, as consultant executive chef. He became the first British person to become head chef of a three-Michelin star establishment. Lee, who has led the Welsh National Culinary Team to medal success at prestigious events all over the world, is making a return to English Lakes Hotels where he was head chef at the Low Wood Hotel about 12 years ago.

WELL there's a clever idea - all we need now is some sunshine! Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding comes packaged in an aluminium foil tray so the pudding-makers have suggested it can be placed straight onto the barbecue to provide the perfect alfresco dessert. The pre-cooked pudding just requires a few minutes above the cooling coals to melt the sticky toffee sauce and heat the light date sponge through. It's a safe, quick and easy way of preparing a dessert for several people at once, and is available in five sizes, from an individual pudding to a nine-portion version. Cartmel Sticky Toffee Puddings are available for wholesale, catering and private orders - including through the new online shop.