Foundation has fundraising for Rosemere on a plate!

Leading the kitchen brigade in making the lunch was the Three Fishes’ proprietor Nigel Haworth, a Michelin starred TV chef, who originally put nearby gourmet getaway Northcote Hotel on the map.

Mr Haworth was also a close friend of legendary Goosnargh poultry farmer Mr Johnson, whose ducks and corn-fed chickens were renowned the world over for their quality and led to Goosnargh often being used as a prefix to duck and chicken dishes created by many top chefs.

Mr Johnson died suddenly of a heart attack in 2015 aged 64. His daughter Kara and family friend Norma Scott, who was successfully treated for mouth cancer at Rosemere Cancer Centre, set up the Reg Johnson Foundation in tribute to him.

They raised £20,000 in 2017, which was shared by Rosemere Cancer Foundation and cardiac rehabilitation charity Heartbeat, by hosting a sumptuous banquet at Blackburn Rovers’ Ewood Park ground that not only had Mr Haworth chefing but also Paul Heathcote, Richard Corrigan and Terry Laybourne plus food critics Tom Parker-Bowles and Matthew Fort as the event’s MCs.

Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, the region’s specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and also at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties.

The charity funds cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and innovative services and initiatives that the NHS cannot afford in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free.

For further information on its work, including how to make a donation, visit www.rosemere.org.uk