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Published: April 22nd 2007
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4-am saw me clocking off at work and heading home eager to get some sleep and join the other members of the Honda Owners Club, Three Shires Branch later that morning for a run out to Mytholmroyd near Hebden Bridge for the Dock Pudding World Championships.
We met up at a 24-hour café on the A616 near junction 35A of the M1 at around 10-am, where a few of us had a snack or breakfast or just missed out because of the poor service. We set off around 10:30 for a very steady run over to Mytholmroyd. This is the kind of run that would have suited a pillion with little experience on the rear seat of a bike, someone like my wife but unfortunately she decided to say at home.
We finally set off around 10:30-am with Nog and Liz leading the pack, riding through Wortley, Penistone, then cross country to Saddleworth, Ripponden and arriving at Mytholmroyd around lunch time. The car park was busy but we managed to park as a group out of the way of any danger to our bikes. Within the car park was a car boot sale were we had a look
around with many comments about how most of the stuff should be in a skip, maybe so but Martin did manage to find a plate warmer to keep his Chinese meals warm for just £1
Inside the building were more stalls and an area where we could get well welcomed cup of tea and a bun or a sandwich (for those who missed out at the greasy spoon on the A616). The hall where the competition was to be held was packed and quite warm, I soon dumped my jacket under a table. After a while looking around it was time to sample a bit of Dock Pudding. We chatted to a lovely lady who was cooking her Dock pudding and telling us about her grand mother giving her the recipe, as she served us a small portion. I apprehensively took a bit of the Dock Pudding served up on a small piece of bread only to be quite surprised at the texture and more so the taste, it was fantastic in a way where if would have made an excellent starter in any of the countries top restaurants.
World Dock Pudding Championships
Dock Pudding is a distinctive
West Yorkshire dish apparently only found (and with little wonder!) in the Calder Valley. It is made from dock leaves, nettles, oatmeal, onions, butter and seasoning. The dock pudding is then heated through to form part of a 'traditional' Yorkshire breakfast. The dock leaves used are from Polygonum Bistorta, a sweet variety and not common cow dock leaves. The spinach-like dock leave combo is usually fried together and served with bacon and eggs.
During the Second World War, the German propagandist William Joyce, better known as ‘Lord Haw Haw' announced on German radio that food rationing was so bad in Yorkshire that people had resorted to eating ‘grass', unaware that dock pudding was supposed to be a delicacy!
Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre continues to host the World Dock Pudding Championship every year. The contest was first held in 1971 to major TV and news coverage nationwide.
2000 to 2002 saw a winning streak for husband and wife team Trevor and Joan Whitworth.
In 2003 after a three-way tie break , 23-year-old Owen Colville (ironically chef for the sponsors, Holdsworth House) was judged the winner by the panel. Interestingly, until that day Colville had never cooked dock pudding!
In 2004,
the award was won by Jette Howard, who also admitted that this was the first year she'd made dock pudding. In a break with tradition, Ms Howard created a vegetarian version using olive oil, onions and mushrooms served up with a pancake to narrowly win the title from Mr. Whitworth who was only one point behind.
The 2005 Dock Pudding Festival turned up another huge surprise as 13 year old twins, Clare and Kate Morrison, were declared World Dock Pudding Champions as well as claiming the Junior Prize. In a close result, former champions, Joan and Trevor Whitworth were relegated to second place with Doris Hurst third.
Clare and Kate had been particularly keen to do well this year as they had been tutored by a close friend of the family, Mary Knowles, 79, who had been unable to enter the contest herself due to illness. Sadly, Mary died in January and Clare and Kate dedicated their victory to her memory. Their plate included a fried egg and also the traditional local potato cake.
Traditional Recipe
Ingredients
2 lb fresh, sweet variety dock leaves (polygonum distorta)
2 large onions, or 2 large bunches of spring onions
½ lb nettles
A
handful of oatmeal
A knob of butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Wash and clean the dock leaves and remove the stalks
Wash and clean the nettles
Chop the onions
Fry the vegetables in the butter until tender
Add the oatmeal and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring to prevent the mixture from sticking, the pudding is then ready for eating or for storing in a sealed container
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eims
eims
never heard of this before - v interesting stuff:)