Tennis players and chefs team up to champion British lamb and help families in need
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), faced with a summer without Wimbledon, has lined up some of the biggest hitters in tennis for a novel tournament combining the nation's love of the game with its love for lamb.
Renowned chefs have paired up with professional tennis players in a game of mixed doubles to serve up an array of lamb dishes on social media. Using the hashtag #Makeitlamb, the public can then cast their votes.
Karl Pendlebury, from AHDB and match umpire, said: "We have some British tennis greats – Paul Jubb, Joe Salisbury and Tim Henman – and amazing chefs to showcase lamb, including Chris Wheeler of Stoke Park, Adam Lestrelle from Roehampton tennis club and online media chef Hari Ghotra.
"Lamb is a great meat, sustainable and easy to cook at home and although very talented chefs are in this competition, households everywhere can replicate the dish or be inspired to try a recipe of their own using British lamb.
"We are very grateful to the professional players, the clubs and not least the chefs for entering the spirit of this unusual competition. Come rain or shine, these matches will be played out on social media."
The charity Rackets Cubed will benefit from the campaign. Michael Hill, founder of Rackets Cubed, said: "The aim is to help those families who have been most impacted by the Covid-19 shut down and in response we launched the Community Box programmes that provide essential food, personal hygiene, activity and educational supplies to approximately 1,500 young families in six cities. They have often lost most if not all their income, with limited state support, through no fault of their own."