BRIT LAUNCH PARTY A TASTY DO!

The launch party - held on the publication date, October 15th - was a memorable event. The food almost overshadowed the book! The buffet was a unique spread. Every dish had Marmite in it. There was soup, pasta, pate, sausage rolls, dainty pinwheel sandwiches, savoury pastries, chicken bites, all incredibly enhanced with a dollop of the mighty-M! Even guests who can't stand the stuff, gave the food the thumbs up.

The food was prepared by Tracy and Mark Witherington, owners of the Grape Vine, a cozy bistro-cafe in Whitby and their chef, Mark Rowell. They had taken many of the menu ideas from Marmite cookery books, dating back to the 1920s. But the big hit of the night they made up themselves: black pudding with a Marmite drizzle. It's going on their permanent breakfast menu.

The other surprsing hit of the night was the dessert that I made. I started out to make the cake that is featured in the book. It's a plain sponge with an 'icing' - or 'frosting' for American readers - of melted butter and Marmite, topped with shredded Cheddar Cheese. Sounds gross but it has a loyal following around the world. But I am no baker and I totally screwed-up the making of the sponge cake. How difficult is that - but I did! Anyway, determined not to have to start all over again, I mashed-up the sunken cake, grabbed a jar of Marm-A-Lite (a mix of marmalade and Marmite, made by that clever cover-designer chap, Rex, which is also in the book) and stirred it in. Then I plonked that 'mess' into a shallow casserole and put the topping on. They were fighting over it! Hard to believe, I know....