SOME OF THE COUNTRY’S TOP MICHELIN CHEFS will join the Save Windermere campaign for a week long culinary event to raise funds for the protection of Windermere.

The Lake District boasts a remarkable number of Michelin-starred chefs, surpassing any other region in the country outside London. Chefs4SaveWindermere will see The Lake District’s top chefs – with a host of Michelin awards and accolades between them – come together in support of the Save Windermere campaign.

Over 6 nights, from 11-16 September 2023, leading chefs will cook up culinary delights in an intimate tented setting overlooking the lake. Spearheaded by Barney Cunliffe of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, each evening of the week will feature different chefs and restaurants, all dedicated to using local, sustainable and nature-friendly ingredients, sourced from our incredible farmers. Each table seats 10, giving a capacity for 100 guests to attend each night.

Windermere is a dying lake. Save Windermere is campaigning to end all treated and untreated sewage discharges into the lake by United Utilities, as has been achieved in Lake Annecy in France. Unlike our rivers and coasts, Windermere is an enclosed body of water and requires unique solutions and resources. Only by completely removing all nutrient inputs will England’s most iconic lake be preserved for generations to come.

The campaign, fronted by Matt Staniek, has had over 275,000 signatures to its petitions, more than any other on the subject of sewage pollution, and has grown exponentially both locally and nationally in the last months, following a demonstration attended by Steve Coogan, Lee Mack and Paul Whitehouse in May of this year.

The Chefs4SaveWindermere line up is equally as extraordinary, thanks to:

• Mon 11 Sep:  Simon Rogan’s Lake District Restaurants led by executive chef Paul Burgalières:
• 3* Michelin L’Enclume, 1* Michelin Rogan & Co, plus Aulis Cartmel and Henrock 
• Tue 12 Sep:  1* Michelin Ryan Blackburn from The Old Stamp House, Ambleside,
• supported by Steven Doherty
• Wed 13 Sep:  1* Michelin Ollie Bridgwater from SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel 
• Thu 14 Sep:  Craig and Shaun Edmondson of the Brown Horse Inn at Winster
• (winners of Cumbria’s Best Pub and Bar in 2023) 
• Fri 15 Sep:  1* Michelin Richard Swale, with Anthony Amos from Allium, Askham Hall,
• joined by 1* Michelin Ben Queen-Fryer from The Dog and Gun Inn, Skelton
• Sat 16 Sep:  Aakash Ohol of Gilpin Spice and Tom Westerland of Knipe Grill at Gilpin Lake House

Our Michelin chefs will provide fine dining and wine on four nights, whilst Craig and Shaun Edmondson will host a traditional pub night, and Aakash Ohol and Tom Westerland will offer a sophisticated “barbecue night”, showcasing their mastery of cooking over fire. 

United Utilities and the Environment Agency have failed to manage excessive nutrients entering Windermere and potentially toxic algae has already begun to bloom this summer, with the Freshwater Biological Association warning lake users not to swim.

This mistreatment of our most precious resource has the potential to cause catastrophic harm to the area’s wildlife, local population, and to the jobs, suppliers, farmers and tax recipients who depend on Windermere’s £750m tourism industry. It undermines our heritage, culture, arts, books and film, which are embodiments of the global Lake District brand. Windermere is a beloved place visited from across the world. It is particularly symbolic for the Lake District as the UK’s first national park to be awarded the international status of UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is for places that are of “outstanding universal value to humanity” and (somewhat poignantly) should be “protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy”.

The money raised from the week-long event will be ring-fenced to support the Save Windermere campaign’s new data collection initiatives, their increasingly successful Parliamentary lobbying, and the development of innovative legislation to safeguard our lake for both the present and future generations. 

Save Windermere founder, Matt Staniek said:

“Save Windermere is incredibly lucky to have such phenomenal culinary talent coming together to raise awareness and funding for the campaign. Save Windermere is fighting for the complete removal of all treated and untreated sewage discharges into our lake, following in the footsteps of Lake Annecy to make Windermere the cleanest lake in Europe.”

Barney Cunliffe, owner of Gilpin Hotel & Lake House adds:

“It has been a pleasure to bring these amazing chefs together in support of Save Windermere. They have achieved excellence in part by sourcing amazing ingredients from Lake District farmers, who are supplying some of the highest quality sustainable produce in the world as well as working in environmentally sustainable ways to ensure our local environment is protected. This event is a chance to say enough is enough, and to give Save Windermere the financial resources to challenge United Utilities and the Environment Agency.”

Bookings and donations can be made through the Chefs4SaveWindermere Website: https://www.savewindermere.com/chefs4sw-about