Karen Wright: Demonstrating in historic Chantry Chapel

I sometimes get a bit more hands on and do a little cooking demonstration at the end of my presentation and it is often a bit surreal if the venue is an abbey a church or, as was the case recently, a Chantry Chapel.

Wakefield is home to one of the few remaining chantry chapels in the country and we are very fortunate to have it. The friends of the chapel keep things beautifully. There are occasional open days and events that offer the public a chance to get inside and soak up the atmosphere and try to imagine all the historical events that have taken place in and around the chapel.

My small event took place on a Monday afternoon a couple of weeks ago and it was wonderful. As it is such an intimate place, the chapel hasn't got a massive capacity, but it was full, and the atmosphere was warm, and my talk went down so well. After I had finished my talk, I set to work cooking one of the recipes from my book Meals on the Move: A Campsite Cooking Journey. I chose something that always goes down well and is easy to present in an attractive way. I made Spaghetti Puttanesca and served a little sample to everyone at the end.

When promoting my book, cooking a recipe tends to be a sure-fire way to engage with the audience. I had a queue of people down the aisle waiting to buy a copy! Many of the people in the audience came up for a chat too, asking questions, telling me that they enjoy reading this column and taking down my details so that they could book me to speak at events they were thinking of holding. It was wonderful!

Next week I am on my travels once again, I am going to Spain with my mum as it is her ninety first birthday. We are staying in an all-Inclusive hotel, but I am still hoping for some authentic Spanish dishes for me to try to recreate when I get home and share with you in this column. Hasta La Vista!