Children in Need: Norwich woman cooks new recipe every day for charity

Rachel Willcock said she enjoyed cooking but had a habit of sticking to the same old recipes

A woman who challenged herself to cook a new recipe for every family meal for a year as a Children in Need fundraiser has almost reached her £1,000 goal.

Rachel Willcock, 57, from Norwich began the project on 1 January, because she had got "lazy" and was repeating meals.

Sourcing and planning each new recipe was "challenging but fun", she said.

She has used "ingredients I have never used before, including goat meat and pheasant" and has so far cooked 251 recipes - with some making two meals.

Mrs Willcock chose BBC Children in Need because it has supported charities that helped her late sister, who was born with spina bifida, enjoy life.

With five children all with partners, eight grandchildren and parents, Mrs Willcock can have a lot of people to feed

She is the main cook in the household, which includes husband Jonathan and one of their sons, while other children, partners, grandchildren and parents come over to eat regularly.

She reckons she cooks about five meals a week on average - and all but one of the new recipes have been a hit.

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"A dish made from filo pastry, spinach and pine nuts was a bit dry - but we still ate it anyway," she said.

But like most families, they had "the odd takeaway", were invited to friends, had days when they were unwell and did not feel like eating, and had a couple of weeks' holiday.

She said: "We mostly ate our main meal out while on holiday.

"Having said that, I would pick something that I hadn't made off the menus when we were out, so as not to repeat there either."

Spinach, feta and pine nut filo pastry pie is not likely to be on next year's menu once the challenge is over on 31 December

But the butter chicken with yellow rice, corn and friend plantains was definitely a success

Mrs Willcock initially found inspiration from charity shop cook books, while friends gave her their favourite recipes.

As the year comes to an end, she is increasingly looking for online inspiration.

Usually the Willcocks do a lot of travelling to the United States and Latin America as language and culture consultants, but their business had to change during the pandemic.

About once a week she cooks a dessert and she was pleased with her first attempt at a pavlova

But most of Mrs Willcock's cooking is savoury

Mrs Willcock said it was important the recipes were economical and she would swap out more expensive ingredients for affordable ones.

Her husband had "been really supportive, really enjoyed the challenge - and helps clean up the kitchen afterwards", she said.

She has been charting her progress on a Just Giving page, which has so far raised £880.

The latest grandchild was there for chicken and asparagus pie