MPs cook up recipes for charity

A new charity cookbook has been launched which includes recipes by some of the nation's top politicians.

The City of London Cookbook covers the culinary creations and traditional recipes to be found in the capital.

Contributions have been made by Tony Blair, Ken Livingstone, Sir Menzies Campbell and Sir John Major.

The book has been launched in aid of The Treloar Trust, which provides education, therapy and independence training for disabled young people.

Each of the book's illustrated chapters examines a particular aspect of dining in London along with anecdotes and recipes.

Famous names

Other contributors include chefs Gordon Ramsey, Rick Stein and Antony Worrall Thompson.

The cookbook, which contains around 60 recipes, was launched by the Lord Mayor of London, who has written the foreword.

The prime minister offered instructions for an all-in-one sponge cake, while the London Mayor, Mr Livingstone, revealed his recipe for roasted new potatoes with thyme.

Sir Menzies, the Liberal Democrat leader, gave instructions on how to cook a smoked haddock pie.

Conservative leader David Cameron also offered his recipe for a sausage and pasta combination - but the book's Italian section was already full, so this was not used.

The book, written by London restaurateur Peter Gladwin, is published by Accent Press, which previously compiled another charity cookbook entitled East Meets West to raise funds for the survivors of the tsunami in South East Asia.

Managing director Hazel Cushion said: "Our ambition is to make this cookbook the surprise bestseller of this Christmas."