07 May 2009

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100 UK school children, Liz McClarnon and home appliance brand Belling, today (1 May 2009) earned their place in Guinness World Record history after setting a brand new world record for most people cooking simultaneously.

The children simultaneously cooked a vegetable pizza from scratch during the hour long attempt at Alton Towers Resort. They were joined by Celebrity MasterChef champion, Liz McClarnon, whose culinary expertise was enlisted to lead the attempt and guide the students through the recipe.

Belling embarked on the Guinness World Record in a bid to get Britain’s kids cooking and to highlight the importance of food technology lessons in schools. Schools that won a place to take part each received £1,000 worth of kitchen appliances.

Liz Mclarnon commented: “What a fantastic way to inspire children to get cooking. Today was a great experience and it was a real honour to be involved in the attempt. The kids did a great job and everyone’s pizza looked amazing!

“Learning basic cookery skills in schools is so important which is why I was keen to get involved with Belling’s campaign. I am sure that it will go a long way in highlighting the need for schools and the government to invest in food technology, encouraging more children to leave school knowing the basics of how to cook healthy, balanced meals.”

George Booth from St Anselm’s College in Birkenhead commented: “It was a really fun day and definitely an experience that I won’t forget for a long time. Not only did we get the chance to be part of a Guinness World Record attempt, we also got to meet Liz who is a real inspiration and was great at guiding us through the recipe. I am definitely going to make the pizza for my family – I can’t wait to show off my skills and tell everyone about the day!”

Evidence from the event will now be sent to Guinness for official verification that the attempt was successful.

For details on the recipe that was used for the attempt visit www.belling.co.uk/keepbritaincooking. For further information about Belling, visit www.belling.co.uk or call 0844 24 84 149 for a brochure.

ENDS

For press enquiries please contact Gaby O’Grady, Louise Woodward, Sian Fletcher or Lucy Warrington on 0113 243 1117 or email GDHA@lucrecommunications.com

Notes to editors:

· Guinness guidelines to set a world record for most people cooking simultaneously include:

o At least 100 people must take part

o The dish cooked must be a main meal

o The meal must take at least 30 minutes to prepare and cook

o All participants must be cooking at the same time

· Schools that took part were Bottisham Village College in Cambridge, St Anselm’s College in Liverpool and Littleover Community School in Derby

· Schools were chosen after a nationwide competition was launched at the end of last year

· The academic year (2008/9) saw a new legislation brought in to make food technology a compulsory part of all young people’s education

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