CELEBRITY chef Nisha Katona paid a special visit to Claire House this week to launch a major fundraising event for the hospice.
The Wirral-based restaurateur, author and TV presenter - who established the hugely successful Mowgli Street Food restaurant chain in 2014 - met children and staff at the Bebington hospice. at the hospice on Wednesday to launch this year’s Mowgli Dog Show.
Described as "a really foodie, family, fun day out" it is taking place at Claremont Farm on Old Clatterbridge Road in Bebington on Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2.
Now in its sixth year, the event is staged by the charitable arm of Nisha's restaurant chain. The weekend promises fantastic canine competitions, great local food, drink and craft stalls, alongside live music, funfair attractions, shopping village and children’s activities.
The Main Arena will be hosted by Heart Radio’s Adam Weighell.
"You just spend two minutes in there and can see just how worthy and dignified everyone is in their need for financial help.
"The nurses and one-to-one support staff can't do what they do without our help.
"These are our children in our community being supported at Claire House and the dedication staff have to them can be only take place thanks to the public funding them."
The expansion of Nisha's restaurant chain continues. She explained: "I'm also building seven restaurants this year. It's going amazingly well. It was a tricky year last year, because suddenly the food prices went up.
"I think every restaurant had to cut their cloth last year, but we're on the crest of a wave at the moment and sold our two millionth chat bomb this week.
Looking back on the career-changing decision to open a restaurant, the 53-year-old said: "When I gave up being a barrister 10 years ago to open a restaurant chain, I never imagined that we would end up where we, the first national Indian food chain restaurant to come out of Liverpool. It's incredible.
"We're going international now too; just found a site in Dublin and going to Jersey. That's why I'm so fond of this area and will give everything I have to it.
"The Merseyside audience helped me build Mowgli, with this weird food that Indians eat at home. We're not just talking about korma and a naan bread or a chicken tikka masala, this is actual Indian food.
"It's because of the Merseyside population that Mowgli has grown into a company that has got 1,000 employees now and we've given close to £2million to charities.
"We're also building two schools in India, as we speak, for girls that are often betrothed by the time they are eight years old.
"We're really trying to change things across the world, not just locally, and that's because of the hunger of Merseyside people."
Dan Halliday, corporate fundraising manager for Claire House said: "We absolutely love the Mowgli dog show. It's very much in everyone's diary for the year and the staff, the kids and our families love going there over the weekend.
"It's at an amazing place, Claremont Farm, and organised by the amazing team at Mowgli for Claire House. It means a lot to us.
"I must admit I was a little bit apprehensive when Nisha first suggested doing a dog show six years ago but, happily, the event has just grown over the last six years and is a real family day out.
"What's lovely is that you see people walking around and kids haven't got their phones out, everyone's really there in the moment.
"I can't believe we're six years in, but it's a brilliant weekend."
To book your tickets for this year's event, go to http://www.mowglitrust.com/dog-show-2024/
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