FOUR housewives may be ready to challenge chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver in the kitchen after creating their own cookbook to raise money to refurbish their village hall.Compiled by residents Pam Wallace, Christine Schwick, Jill Powell and Bridget L

FOUR housewives may be ready to challenge chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver in the kitchen after creating their own cookbook to raise money to refurbish their village hall.

Compiled by residents Pam Wallace, Christine Schwick, Jill Powell and Bridget Long, the sale of Flavours of Ashwell hopes to raise valuable funds for the renovation of the kitchen and improvements to the car park at the hall.

The cookbook contains 116 recipes including traditional soups, casseroles, cakes and puddings.

And for the more adventurous there is chicken yassa from Africa, chocolate chilli biscuits from New Zealand and kebapeta from Bulgaria.

There are also low fat and vegetarian recipes, children's dishes and even ideas for dogs.

Mrs Schwick said: "We wanted to create a cookbook that reflected a modern Ashwell, as the village has a real mix of people.

"The old village life remains but we also have a young vibrant community.

"There's also a lot of different nationalities and we wanted all these people to help with the book.

"As a result we have recipes that have been passed down through generations, international dishes, and new modern ideas."

Mrs Schwick added: "We also wanted the cookbook to look modern and we have definitely succeeded. It has a contemporary look to it and the illustrations look really good. It's very professional."

Mrs Powell said: "The four of us worked extremely well together and it has been great fun creating the book.

"But we couldn't have done it without the people of Ashwell."

The recipe book is already a success with other residents and North East Herts MP Oliver Heald.

He said: "I am delighted to own a copy of Flavours of Ashwell and I encourage everyone to buy this excellent book."

Flavours of Ashwell has also been supported by top chef Tristan Welch, who is Mrs Powell's nephew.

Tristan is the head chef at Marcus Wareing's Michelin-starred restaurant Petrus in Knightsbridge.

Mrs Powell said: "Tristan has been a tremendous help and it was good having his expertise on board.

"He's been impressed with some of the recipes and you never know he may use some of them in his restaurant."

The book was designed and illustrated by Ashwell residents Mike Feeney and Cathie Felstead.