On Wednesday 13 October 2010, distinguished guests including Sir Michael Marshall and Councillor Sheila Stuart, Mayor of Cambridge, attended a special ‘pudding tasting’ to mark the launch of the East Anglian Air Ambulance’s new fundraising cookbook, Pie in the Sky.

Hosted by Jason Waterfield, Executive Chef at Kings College and a judge in the EAAA’s pudding completion, guests sampled a range of the pudding recipes which appear in the indulgent cookbook.  They’ve been contributed by leading regional chefs, including Jason himself, the winners of the EAAA’s pudding competition and celebrities including Jean-Christophe Novelli, Amanda Holden and The Hairy Bikers.

Priced at £9.99, the EAAA hopes that the cookbook will prove an effective fundraiser for the charity, especially in the run up to Christmas.  It is available from the EAAA’s Melbourn office and is being stocked at specialist retail outlets across Cambridgeshire, including Sainsburys in Coldham’s Lane, Cambridge, which has adopted the EAAA as its Charity of the Year.  An order form for the book can also be downloaded from the charity’s website at www.eaaa.org.uk

Commenting on the launch of Pie in the Sky, Alison Horsley, EAAA Fundraising Manager for South Cambridgeshire, said:  “It’s a really beautiful book and some of the recipes look wonderful.  We’re so grateful to everyone who has supported us with Pie in the Sky and are indebted to Jason for giving up his time to judge our pudding competition.  I hope the book will be making an appearance in Christmas stockings across Cambridgeshire this year!”

Jason Waterfield added:  “It was a pleasure to help support such a vital regional charity.  I was impressed with the calibre of recipes submitted for the competition and there are some unusual and exciting puddings in the book. Pie in the Sky gives us the perfect excuse to revel in a pudding instead of feeling guilty about it!”

The EAAA operates a 365 day life-saving service across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.  It is entirely dependent on fund-raising and contributions from members of the public as it receives no direct government or National Lottery funding.  It costs £3.5 million per year to keep the charity’s two air ambulances flying, to provide the required ancillary operations and to supply the advanced clinical equipment they carry.  Anglia One serves Norfolk and Suffolk and Anglia Two serves Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

For more information about the East Anglian Air Ambulance, visit its website at www.eaaa.org.uk