Cooks ready for Dock Pud championships

The traditional spring breakfast treat which uses young dock leaves will be cooked up by competitors at Mytholmroyd Community Centre on Sunday, April 17, and the event also incorporates a food and drink festival.

With a competitor believed to be flying in from Canada specially for this year’s competition, it really is developing a global reputation.

Visitors - and all the stops are being pulled out to bring people into the village and the valley as it recovers from the Boxing Day floods - can make a day of it, with the stalls running from 10am and the competition itself taking place from 1.30pm.

With many of the stalls showcasing products by local producers, the food and drink festival aims to showcase some of the best the valley offers, from locally produced cheese to beer, via a hog roast, cafe food and ice cream to spicy Mexican and tasty vegan dishes. There will also be some Dock Pudding merchandise available on the day, including a limited run of cloth shopping bags. As part of the post-flood recovery process, local businesses are also invited to leave promotional leaflets for visitors to peruse and take away.

Live music will see guest spots including a ukelele band, Aron Harper-Robinson, Hebden Bridge Junior Band (during the Dock Pudding cook-off), the Swing Cats Trio, Catfish Skillet and Innominate, all supported by the Hebden Bridge Community PA. There will also be a bar, some entertainment for children and a fundraising raffle.

Finally, the guest judges will have to decide whose pud - traditionally cooked in bacon fat and also utilising oatmeal, nettles and onion, served with bacon and eggs - will be this year’s winner!