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Brave Cook lives up to her name as TV trial praises a 'posh pot noodle'
PLUCKY amateur chef Jennie Cook has had to overcome the severe pain and disability of arthritis in her hands in a bid to take the culinary world by storm on a reality TV show to find the next great recipe fit for the nation's supermarkets.
The 56-year-old widow, who runs a guesthouse in York, will be seen on Channel Five's brand new series Breaking Into Tesco tonight pitching her "posh pot noodle" to the retail giant's top bosses.
Malaysian-born Jennie, a mother of two, invented her spicy dish called Cook's Curry Mee Soup whilst hosting dinner parties and had only previously served it to friends and family.
She entered it into the competition, where she was the oldest of 20 contestants to make it through to the televised stages, for a shot at the programme's prize – a contract with Tesco to have the winning product mass-produced and stocked on its shelves.
Jennie, who despite having no formal training has previously demonstrated her Malaysian home cooking on TV shows including the Generation Game and Blue Peter and taught cookery classes at York's adult education centre, said she suffered with arthritis throughout the show's recording and had to take strong steroids and painkillers.
The former nurse, who has had seven operations for her condition, said yesterday: "To make matters worse, the pills were making me sick and I also had the flu, but you won't see me moan about it on the programme because you just have to get on with it.
"The arthritis means that I can't slice or chop food like I used to, so it's very awkward to cook.
"When it is very bad, I can't put any pressure on my hands. It is a real nuisance, but that's all – it's not a killer.
"I call my steroids my boyfriend because they make me feel much better and I can be like a spring chicken, but I also get very tired,"
Jennie, who came to England in 1969, added: "I entered the competition for my own selfish gain. My husband passed away four years ago and I do not like cooking just for myself.
"I want to see supermarkets stocking my dishes so I do not have to prepare them myself and can just nip down the road to buy them and heat them up in the microwave.
"My ultimate aim is to see the name Cook on the market because of my husband who gave me the surname before I even started cooking. He was everything to me before he died.
"To have someone say my food is beautiful is the greatest accolade there is. I don't care if I do not make money from it as long as people love my food.
"I just want to share my experiences and recipes, and that's what I have been doing with the people of York for years.
"I am very passionate about my food."
Although Jennie is not allowed to disclose whether she earned a place in the series final by having her dish named as the winning recipe against three fellow contestants in tonight's opening episode, she said her ambition of having her noodle-based fresh ready meal on sale in the supermarket had received a massive boost from the show.
And tonight, viewers will see her Malaysian-inspired recipe praised by Tesco's head of product quality and a real panel of the company's taste-testers.
Jennie said: "I am very proud to have achieved so much.
"I had a lot of fun, although it was a bit terrifying at times because of the big business involved. I would be so proud to walk into a supermarket and see my food on the shelf. It would make me so happy, and I am also thinking about opening a noodle bar.
"I want to create a whole range of "hawker" food, like my Curry Mee Soup which is a posh pot noodle and very warming and filling, to eat while on the move.
"They are the most delicious dishes and quick and healthy, which is very Malaysian.
"It is very different to what is currently out there in supermarkets and I'm sure the British public will embrace it in the same way that they have Chinese and Mexican food.
"They are always looking for something different and this is it.
"Whenever I am in York I am promoting Malaysia and whenever I am outside York I am promoting my home city."
Jennie, who runs Cook's Guest House in Bishopthorpe Road, said she had had a difficult decision to make because she had already booked a two-month trip to see friends and family in Malaysia, but she was glad she cancelled the visit.
Her recipe for Curry Mee Soup includes onion, garlic, lemongrass, chilli powder, coriander, fennel, cumin, galangal, tumeric, oil, salt, sugar, lime leaves, sugar and shrimp paste. She is up against three competitors whose dishes are cherry ravioli, allergy-free muffins and Lancashire hotpot.
Breaking Into Tesco is on Five at 9pm tonight.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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