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TV chef Ainsley a big fan of Whitby and district
CELEBRITY chef Ainsley Harriott has been cooking up a storm in Whitby this week as part of a new GMTV series.
In BBQ with a View, the cameras follow Ainsley as he heads around the country, sampling local cuisine and taking in the sights.
The 53-year-old chef, star of Ready Steady Cook, was on the Khyber Pass on Tuesday afternoon cooking a seafood recipe of crab and coconut fishcakes.
He visited the north east at the weekend for friend Sol Campbell's wedding in Corbridge, Northumberland and the chef's wife Clare is a Yorkshire lass, from Sheffield.
But the culinary expert fell in love with North Yorkshire on his very first visit to Whitby.
He told the Whitby Gazette on Tuesday: "I can see why people come up here, it's got everything.
"It has the seaside feel to it, the architectural history, that view that seems to go on forever.
"It's not just out to sea, but inland too, and there's all those little bits that make it so interesting."
The flamboyant Paddington-born chef also filmed aboard the North Yorkshire Moors Railway earlier in the day, adding: "I was on the choo-choo train, as I used to call it, shovelling the coal, it was fantastic."
And he was also very complimentary of Whitby's local cuisine.
"I've eaten lots of fish over the last couple of days," he said.
"There's nothing like proper fish and chips.
"I walked down to the bandstand and everyone obviously thought the same with all their boxes of chips.
"I was also at Green's restaurant, Rob the chef did a brilliant job, he didn't over-do his food, it was just right and beautifully presented.
"Look at the way this nation has moved on with food – people demand freshness now and that's shown in the style of restaurants in Whitby."
Ainsley and his crew also filmed at Radford's butchers in Sleights and at Whitby Abbey, and have already visited the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, Guernsey and is off to Cornwall in a couple of weeks.
"The show is all about bringing lots of beautiful sights that people might see in magazines or books and making them come alive," he said.
Gary Verity, chief executive of the region's tourist board, Welcome to Yorkshire, said the publicity Ainsley's trip to Whitby would generate was fantastic news.
He said: "Whitby is one of the county's coastal treasures so we were delighted to have persuaded GMTV to come and stay, film and cook in the town.
"By all accounts the wonderful weather, the warm welcome, the professionalism and the fresh produce GMTV encountered left a lasting impression on them.
"We look forward to seeing the final feature when it is broadcast and anticipate an upsurge in enquiries for Whitby as a result."
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Weather for Whitby
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light snow
Temperature: -0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
