We still don't quite believe this actually happened, but the CARA team - Matt, Elizabeth, and Etta, along with friends and local residents Helen and Cordelia, recently featured in an episode of BBC2's Great British Menu!

Great British Menu is a national competition for top British (professional) chefs, who compete for the chance to cook one course of a four course banquet.

The first series banquet was for the Queen on her 80th birthday. The second series was to cook for the British Ambassador to France at the British Embassy in Paris. The third series was to prepare a banquet to be held at the Gherkin in London, hosted by Heston Blumenthal. In the fourth series, chefs competed to cook at a celebratory dinner for British troops returning from Afghanistan. The fifth series was to cook at a banquet hosted by the Prince of Wales for outstanding local food suppliers.

This new series focuses on how food can bring communities together, and we were asked to be involved following our two successful 'Big Lunch' street parties in the Hawthorns in 2009 and 2010. So, chef Tim Bilton visited the team to get some tips on what makes a great dish for a street lunch, so he can refine his fish course before the competition stage. Tim cooked us a gorgeous fish stew, and is clearly very passionate about his food. Unfortunately, Tim didn't progress through to the next round, but we cna recommend his cooking skills first-hand!

Our 'story' featured in the second episode of the new series, aired on Tuesday 5th April, and is available to view on BBC iPlayer.