The author of the Mackem 'Cewk Bewk', Paul Swinney, talks about why he wrote the book and some of the recipes on the menu.
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00:00Okay, then Paul, where did the idea for the Mackham Cookbook come from then?
00:04All started with the Mackham Dictionary, which was very much looking at the role that dialect
00:08plays in our culture in Wearside.
00:11When moving away to university and all of a sudden discovering that we don't talk the
00:14same as everyone else, we talk proper, lots of other people don't, but actually there's
00:18something here to celebrate.
00:20The cookbook came from there, you know, very particular Mackham word, cookbook, and your
00:25food is some part of cuisine around the world, and wanted to do something which celebrates
00:30food here and our long distinguished culinary history that we have in Wearside and put it
00:34in a book.
00:35So, what are some of the traditional dishes you've got in there, and I also understand
00:38there's some new dishes as well?
00:39Yeah, so traditional ones, your pink slice, obviously you've got to have pink slice in
00:44there.
00:45We know we've got other dishes like puddings in the corner, for example, corned beef potato
00:50pie, and of course panacotti as well, which is very much the Wearside casserole, I like
01:00to call it.
01:01But also a number of traditional new recipes in there too.
01:05We've got pink ice, which is pink slice ice cream, got double maximum chocolate brownies,
01:10which are absolutely delicious, and we've got lambton worm cakes to celebrate the famous
01:15Wearside servant.
01:16I understand the process of going to Sunderland Soup Kitchen as well, is that right?
01:19That's right, yes.
01:20They all support the fantastic work the Soup Kitchen does, helping Wearside's most in need.
01:25Not just with issues around food and drink, but also some of the wider challenge that
01:29they may face.
01:30So, all the proceeds that come from this book will be going to support the great work that
01:34they do.
01:35Obviously Christmas around the corner, good Christmas present?
01:38It should be on the bookshelf of any discerning mackam, either those that live in Sunderland
01:42or live far away from home, because this gives you a taste of home, and hopefully people
01:48get it and much love it and celebrate everything that's inside of it.
01:51Have you got a favourite dish in there?
01:53I think it's probably got to be, from the traditional ones, the pink slice, couldn't
01:57be anything else could it?
01:58From the new ones, take some going to beat there, double maximum chocolate brownie, people
02:02should definitely give that a try.