THE best place to be for food lovers in 2007 was the dining room of Linthwaite House, overlooking Windermere, when world famous chef and cookery writer Keith Floyd was performing his Cookery Theatre project.

Watching the TV celebrity cooking and then being able to eat the end result wasn’t cheap but many people considered it a rare opportunity not to be missed.

A place for what was called A day with Keith Floyd cost £159, or you could enjoy a two-day event package at the hotel costing £415 with dinner, bed and breakfast.

Mr Floyd, who died in September 2009 at the age of 65, was assisted by the Lake District hotel’s catering staff and his wife Tess and places were limited to around 20 people.

He was the first TV chef to step out of the studio and cook on location - a style adopted by many who followed his lead.

A sample of Mr Floyd’s Cookery Theatre at Linthwaite at 2007 included shellfish soup, wild rabbit with prunes and Armagnac, veal kidneys in Madeira sauce, ham with chanterelles and mustard and cream sauce.

Even the vegetables were given a special twist, including peas braised with lettuce and dauphinois potatoes.