Tom Kerridge and Angela Hartnett back charity cooking challenge

Michelin star chefs Tom Kerridge, Angela Hartnett and Ken Hom are backing a month-long campaign to raise awareness of young people living with muscular dystrophy (MD).

The culinary fundraising campaign, ‘Meatball Month, is to be run by MD charity the Muscle Help Foundation (MHF). It aims to encourage people to eat meatballs (meat, veggie or plant-based) throughout November to raise money to support the charity’s work.

For over 20 years, MHF has delivered wish-fulfilment experiences to children and young people living with MD. Experiences include arranging for them to meet film and sporting stars such as Al Pacino and Lewis Hamilton, through to organising experiences such as racing around Silverstone in Porsche 9-11s.

Chefs backing the fundraising campaign will be lending their meatball recipes for people to try out at home while hosting a meatball party and donating to the cause.

Kerridge said he was “delighted” to support (MHF) with his contributing recipe, adding: “I hope that it will help bring awareness to this horrible disease and support all the brave people who suffer from it”.

Hom said: “It’s a fantastic way to not only help raise money for a worthy cause but also, if together we can ignite the nation’s appetite then more children and young people with muscular dystrophy will get their Muscle Dreams fulfilled by the Muscle Help Foundation charity.”

In addition to receiving celebrity chef-backing, comedian, writer, and Junior Bake Off presenter Harry Hill will cook his own meatball recipe for his meatball gathering and will share pictures from his fundraising party.

The charity’s CEO, Michael McGrath who lives with MD, said: “With the country’s obsession with food programmes such as Bake Off and MasterChef seemingly never ending, and a growth reported in the popularity of shared food experiences, now is the perfect time to build momentum for November’s Meatball Month."

He added anyone from “professional chef” to “amateur” can take on the challenge, “with a meatball feast this November all in aid of charity”.