A MASTERCHEF champion has been named as brand ambassador for a new social concept, the Foodie Book Club.

Irini Tzortzoglou was born in Greece and moved to Cartmel ten years ago. Last year she became the MasterChef champion 2019, and this year has become the face of the new chefs’ book club.

Founded by business woman, Lee Majhen-Todd, owner of Lee & The Sweet Life, Foodie Book Club brings together the traditional book club with cooking and community focus, aiming to encourage people to cook for fun and experiment with tastes and flavors.

Irini said: “I love this concept, bringing together reading and cooking but also encouraging greater communication and a creative flair, something I think is really important given what our nation and indeed the world has been going through in recent months.

“I’m delighted to be part of this and can’t wait to see what the members of different Foodie Book Club groups come up with as their monthly potluck dishes!”

Lee Majhen-Todd said: “The books are really varied; I want to cater for all manner of tastes but also challenge some people to explore outside of the genres they usually stick to.

“We’re selecting new authors, established ones, some people may never have heard of, we may even throw in a few children’s books, too – really celebrating the joy of reading and cooking.

“It makes for great conversation and brings in the traditional element of people gathering to feast together, a real social and community event that builds relationships and strengthens them.”

The Foodie Book Club is being backed by several high-level chefs and authors.

The book this month will be ‘Mistress of Spices’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Other authors include Jenny Linford, previous MasterChef champion Jane Devonshire and chefs Oliver Certain, Tony Parkin, Tony Rodd, Mark Reid, Kenny Atkinson, Hywel Griffiths, Hrishikesh Desai and Samira Effa.

For information visit leeandthesweetlife.com/foodie-book-club.