A BBC One MasterChef food critic who grew up in Carlisle has been recognised in a list of the 100 most influential women in hospitality.

Grace Dent was recognised in the “comms and media” category of the CODE list, which is designed to champion women in hospitality and to shine a light on the diverse range of opportunities and career paths available to women in the sector.

She was recognised for her six-year stint writing a weekly restaurant column for the Evening Standard, and her subsequent appearances in The Guardian as a restaurant critic.

Her frequent billing on MasterChef was also noted as a reason for her inclusion.

The TV food critic recently wrote about the Angel Lane Chippie in Penrith in her weekly Guardian restaurant review.

She described the shop, which has won 30 national awards in the past 10 years, as “a shining example of British brilliance”.

Grace opened the column by saying British food was often describe as “rubbish”, before writing fondly about her most recent trip to the popular chippy.

In her column she wrote of her joyous trips to chip shops for a battered treat.

Following the News & Star’s story about Grace’s review, one reader sparked a debate by claiming batter is only there to protect the fish during frying and should be peeled off and thrown away before eating.

National Federation of Fish Friers president Andrew Crook put the record straight, saying it was the combination of the taste of the batter and fish bursting through that makes the dish so special.

Also flying the flag for Cumbria in the list is Nina Matsunaga, head chef at The Black Bull in Sedbergh, who was recognised in the “ones to watch” category.

The categories in the 2020 list includes chefs, operators, teams, media, partnerships and, for the first time, a hall of fame.

This year’s judges included CODE founder Adam Hyman and editor Lisa Markwell, as well as Jason Atherton, Claire Koffmann, Hels Cheung and Clerkenwell Boy.

“I found out on 20th March that I’d been included in the CODE list as One To Watch and I’m still flabbergasted to be honest, especially being listed alongside the likes of Grace Dent and Jancis Robinson,” said Nina Matsunaga.

“I’ve just been doing my thing day to day; I don’t consider what I do to be any different to what the next person is doing.

“But that said it does give me a future platform to promote what women are achieving in the industry, to highlight the careers available and hopefully encourage more women into what is still a very male dominated industry.”