A top Newcastle restaurant is raffling off a three-course meal for four for just £10 in a bid to raise funds for Ukrainian families in crisis.
The Cook House will be selling raffle tickets up until Thursday in aid of the Cook for Ukraine appea l - spearheaded by London-based chefs and writers Olia Hercules, a Ukrainian, and Alissa Timoshkina, from Russia - which has been set up in response to a growing humanitarian emergency.
Anna Hedworth, owner-chef at the Ouseburn restaurant, says her whole team have been affected by what they have seen on the news about the crisis in Ukraine and were keen to find an immediate way to help.
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"We all at Cook House felt like we wanted to do something," says Anna who knows Olia, having stayed in touch with her after attending the same food events.
The Ukrainian chef has spoken movingly of her homeland and her fears for her family there following the Russian invasion.
"The situation is desperate" points out Anna and she feels time is of the essence to help Olia raise awareness and support the Cook for Ukraine fundraiser, which is for Unicef UK, a charity working to protect children and families in danger spots.
Anna was previously involved in a similar fundraiser: a Something for Syria banquet night at Wylam Brewery which raised a staggering £30,000.
This time she wanted to respond immediately to a situation in a constant state of flux and says "a raffle seemed a very good idea as we didn't have to do anything other than get people to buy tickets".
The raffle tickets to win a Cook House meal cost £10 and went on sale mid-afternoon on Monday. By Tuesday afternoon they had raised £9,660 - far more than Anna had expected.
"I was hoping for £500-£600," she says. More than 6,000 people quickly bought tickets - and five or six of them at a time. Each one will count as a separate entry and a winner will be chosen at random.
With many diners at the award-winning Cook House spending £40-£50 each, it's no surprise that foodies are proving eager to snap up, for a bargain price, a chance of winning a prize for four which will include snacks, starters, mains, puddings and soft drinks - everything except alcohol - and which can be booked at a time of the winner's choosing.
Anna, who recently opened a second restaurant - Long Friday - in Jesmond, is also planning to incorporate a few Ukrainian and Russian tastes from Olia and Alissa's cookbooks.
And she has in mind to organise a future themed meal to offer further support to the appeal.
"I don't want to burden Olia given her family situation," says Anna but she and Alissa both know about the raffle and the fundraisers are "over the moon" at the support.
Anna says of her team's eagerness to respond to the crisis: "People are upset about it and it's good to try to do something to help - but we still feel a bit helpless."
Those interested in a chance to win a meal for four at Cook House will have to act fast as tickets will be on sale only until noon on Thursday, March 3.
The aim, explains Anna, is to send the funds raised to the Unicef Just Giving appeal as soon as possible.
"I was actually thinking we could send that money on Thursday afternoon," she says.
To buy raffle tickets see here and find out more about the online appeal here.
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