A COOKBOOK which shares best loved Sunderland dishes will find itself on the menu at the next Sunderland Restaurant Week.
The popular event is set to return from 15 to 23 March and as well as a whole host of restaurants, cafes and bars offering bargain deals, there’s also the opportunity to enjoy some real local favourites.
And that’s all down to the Mackem Cewkbewk, a selection of recipes with a Wearside twist, brought together by Mackem Dictionary creator, Paul Swinney.
Along with offering a range of traditional dishes and a new take on classic favourites, the book also gives a great insight into local cuisine and its origins.
And now a handful of restaurant week participants have got behind the book and added a real local flavour to their menus, some of which will continue after the event is over.
Sunderland College Bistro diners will find sweet treat Pink Slice on the menu, as well as Double Maxim Mussels.
And while the immediate association with Sunderland for the latter may not be as obvious, Paul believes it has a rightful place.
“We’ve been a fishing port for a long time, but you don’t see many mussels. But I always remember my surrogate granda, who was Belgian, scrubbing mussels when I came home from school.
“I saw North at Seaburn had a Double Maxim mussels recipe on their menu for a time. Traditions have to start somewhere, and this is a great Sunderland dish.”
One tried and tested Sunderland special, Panackalty, is being offered at Rumour Has It, while Port of Call will be adding Pink Slice Ice Cream to Vanilla Cheesecake during restaurant week and Sunderland Fish Dahl Curry to their specials post-restaurant week.
“Sunderland has a long history with fishing, being a fishing port long before it built ships. But strangely, beyond fish and chips fish doesn’t really feature in the cuisine, so I wanted to change that,” said Paul.
“I also wanted to reflect the cultural variety of the city and the impact this has had on the food we eat.
“For example, the Moti Raj has been serving up South Asian cuisine in the city centre since the 1970s.
“Yellow split peas are a staple in both North East cooking (pease pudding, ham shank broth) and south Asian cuisines too (dhal), and so bringing them together to form the Sunderland Fish Curry felt like a good thing to do.”
The creation of the Mackem Cewkbewk is the result of “a lot of research” by Paul, talking to relatives and friends and getting advice from a chef friend.
The resulting book is now on sale at £15 – with the proceeds going to Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen.
“The book is about celebrating one of the things that makes Wearside unique. But in doing so I wanted to do some good with it too. Raising funds for the ‘Soupie’ just felt like the natural thing to do, not least given how hard the last few years have been for those in an already precarious financial position.”
Sharon Appleby, Chief Executive of Sunderland BID which organises Sunderland Restaurant Week is delighted to be supporting the book.
“Sunderland has a long food history, with a whole host of traditional dishes which have stood the test of time,” she said.
“Thanks to Paul’s book we’re able to acknowledge this, not just for Sunderland Restaurant Week but on an on-going basis, at a time when the city’s food and drink offering has never looked more exciting.”
Diners during Restaurant Week can take advantage of £10, £15 and £20 deals at numerous eateries across the city. Vouchers for all the offers can be downloaded at www.sunderlandbid.co.uk/restaurant-week
Copies of The Mackem Cewkbewk can be bought at www.a-love-supreme.com