I officially left my job as an NHS nutritionist on Tuesday. It was a strange moment as I headed out of the building, leaving behind me four and half formative years of working on the front line of food and public health, and heading into the unknown world of running a new food social enterprise. Then my phone rang. “Hello?” I said. “Hello, this is Christina from ITV” said the voice on the other end. YES, I thought, my gamble has paid off, goodbye NHS, hello Ant and Dec. “I was wondering whether you’d help promote a cooking programme for us”. Ugh. No River Cottage meets Jamie at Home TV series for me after all.

Nonetheless I was all ears, not wanting to miss an opportunity to show off Birmingham’s cooking talent. As it turns out, ITV are about to start auditioning for the 4th series of Britain’s Best Dish. The programme is an amateur cookery competition in which they celebrate local produce and fantastic home cooking. Birmingham auditions take place 15th May, so please do go for it. Lets show the nation that Birmingham’s not just about Michelin stars, we’ve also got some of the best home cooking in the country. Email bestdish@itv.com to enter. Tell them I sent you. Check out the flyer below.