13th February 2014
The heat will be off the contestants in Britain’s Best Bakery this weekend, but one of the celebrity chefs will be getting cold for a good cause.
TV Chef Peter Sidwell will announce the winner of the ITV series on Friday and then start packing his sleeping bag for a night under the stars for Cumbria Community Foundation’s Winter Warmth Appeal.
Michael Pemberton, Jim Stevens and Peter Sidwell
Michael Pemberton, Jim Stevens and Peter SidwellJoining him in his chilly quest will be two colleagues from Rheged – Business Manager Michael Pemberton and Head of Hospitality Jim Stevens.
The trio are among 170 Cumbrians who have signed up for the Big Sleep challenge this Saturday, 15 February, to sleep in a field beside the Low Wood Hotel in Windermere.
Peter Sidwell said: “This challenge will get me out of the heat of the kitchen and it’s a wonderful opportunity to give something up for a good cause. I take it for granted that I have four walls around me and a roof over my head and I’m lucky I don’t have to turn the heating down. But I have grandparents and it strikes a chord with me, it really hits home that other older people will be really cold this winter.”
Peter has made a donation to the charity and has set up a donations page so you can support the charity through his challenge attempt. www.justgiving.com/peter-sidwell
He’s keeping his mind off how cold it might be by planning something nice to eat to keep warm, he said: “I am making Beef Tea, a really strong beef stock with rossini, it’s a pasta that looks like rice. To be honest I’m quite worried about how cold it will be, but how often do you get a chance to sleep under the stars for a good cause? I am going to sleep so well in my own bed on Sunday night!”
Cumbria Community Foundation has raised £67,000 so far with this year’s appeal. But it hopes donations will bring the total to more than £100,000 to help the growing number of pensioners in need of help to keep warm this winter.
Andy Beeforth, Chief Executive, said: “The wet, stormy weather we have had so far this year has had us all battening down the hatches. Many elderly people are struggling to pay for wood, coal, oil, gas and electric to keep themselves warm and they’re asking us for help. I can’t thank our Big Sleepers enough for taking up this challenge and the discomfort we feel on Saturday night will be short lived. The more we raise, the more people we can keep warm this winter.”
The Big Sleep is an outdoor adventure in aid of Cumbria Community Foundation’s Winter Warmth Appeal. The challenge is to sling on your pyjamas and snuggle down under the stars in front of a fabulous film.
If you could brace yourself to sleep in a field overlooking Lake Windermere, where temperatures may dip as low as minus 11 degrees celsius, and raise £100 – please visit www.cumbriafoundation.org/bigsleep
The reason the charity runs this annual appeal is simple – every winter around 300 elderly people in Cumbria die because of the effects of the cold weather. They have to choose between heating their homes and eating a meal. The Winter Warmth Fund keeps older Cumbrians safe and warm.
