Marmalade isn’t the usual preserve of a vicar, but a minister from Nether Alderley has proven he is a man of many talents after winning a national marmalade competition.
Rev James Milnes, who is the vicar at St Mary’s, created a zingy marmalade for the Dalemain Marmalade Contest, which attracts thousands of entries from all over the world, raising money for Hospice at Home and Action Medical Research.
And his ‘Trinity’ marmalade, created with the help of parishioner Louise Hunter, won the category designed especially for members of the clergy.
Rev Milnes, 33, who admitted it was his first attempt at the preserve, said: “It was complete beginner’s luck.
“We thought we would enter it because it’s a good cause and low and behold we got a call to say we’d won.
“I didn’t know anything about marmalade but Louise said she would coach me, and it was for a good cause, so I went around to her kitchen and had a go.”
“We called it Trinity because it had it had Seville oranges, clementines and the juice of a grapefruit.”
The overall competition winners will get their marmalade sold by Fortnum and Mason in London, with a percentage of profits going towards charity, and Rev Milnes is hoping to make his own contributions by raffling off the last two jars of his creation.
He said: “We are down to our last two jars so we decided to auction them off in aid of the East Cheshire Hospice, which is the main reason we entered in the first place.
“We only did a few jars because we didn’t know how successful it would be so hopefully we can raise a bit of money with the final two.”
Rev Milnes’ Trinity marmalade will be raffled on Saturday, May 11, when Mrs Hunter’s garden at Acton House will be opened up to raise money for St Catherine’s Church at Over Alderley.
Go along to the garden on Hocker Lane between 11am and 5pm.
There will be afternoon tea, and a plant and jam sale. Entrance costs £3.50.
