The Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales has marked the completion of a £800,000 investment in its Visitor Centre with a Dales Kitchen Challenge hosted by TV chef Rosemary Shrager.

Rosemary, who has appeared on numerous TV programmes including The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Ladette to Lady, challenged two teams to create a dish using The Wensleydale Creamery’s Jervaulx Blue cheese in a cook-off held in the Creamery’s new-look Visitor Centre.

Rosemary devised and demonstrated two recipes – ‘Seared Loin of Pork with Jervaux Cheese and Tagliatelle’ and ‘Lamb Wrapped in Parma Ham, Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese Couscous served with a Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Butternut Squash Puree’.

Then, in her inimitable style, Rosemary oversaw the contestants trying their hand at the Tagliatelle dish.

In the style of ‘Ready Steady Cook, an audience of invited guests voted on which team they thought had performed the best.

The culinary competition contestants included David Shields, area director of Welcome to Yorkshire, and Adam Bedford, the National Farmers’ Union senior food and farming adviser for the North East area.

Rosemary Shrager said: “As a television chef living in Yorkshire, I am passionate about locally produced fine food.

“I strongly believe in the quality, authenticity and provenance of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese, which is the only Wensleydale actually made in Wensleydale and which is handcrafted to a time-honoured recipe.

“The Wensleydale Creamery should be applauded for making such a large investment in its Visitor Centre which will further underpin The Creamery’s substantial support for the rural economy by attracting even more visitors to the Dales.

“I thoroughly enjoyed overseeing The Dales Kitchen Challenge to mark the official launch of the Creamery’s fantastic new-look Visitor Centre.”

David Hartley, The Creamery’s Managing Director, said: “Core to The Wensleydale Creamery’s philosophy is supporting the rural economy.

“The investment in our Visitor Centre re-enforces that ethos by strengthening the sustainability of the Dales as a tourist destination.

“Through Rosemary Shrager’s support we have been able to, not only showcase our improved Visitor Centre, but also demonstrate the culinary potential of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale and Jervaulx Blue which are ideal key ingredients in both sweet and savoury dishes.”

The Creamery’s Visitor Centre is already one of the largest tourist attractions in the Yorkshire Dales with more than 200,000 people a year coming through its doors. It is estimated the new-look Visitor Centre, which is being extended in phases, will attract an extra 50,000 visitors a year.