The Lake District is now almost as famous for its food as its water.
So it should be no surprise that when the alarm was sounded that Windermere was dying, Cumbrian-based chefs picked up their ladles in support.
And so it was that Cumbria Crack joined 98 others at a fundraising dinner in a marquee at a private residence overlooking Windermere.
Ollie Bridgwater, who runs SOURCE at the Gilpin, was in charge of the kitchen. He and his staff – many of whom were on their day off – had donated their time for free.
Chefs4SaveWindermere was the brainchild of Gilpin owner Barney Cunliffe, diners – including Steve Coogan and Lee Mack – were there to raise funds for Save Windermere, a community interest company set up earlier this year.
Each night this week – tomorrow is the final event – top chefs including Simon Rogan’s team, Craig and Shaun Edmondson of the Brown Horse Inn at Winster, Richard Swale, with Anthony Amos from Allium, Askham Hall, joined by Ben Queen-Fryer from The Dog and Gun Inn, Skelton, Aakash Ohol of Gilpin Spice and Tom Westerland of Knipe Grill at Gilpin Lake House and Ryan Blackburn, of the Old Stamp House in Ambleside, are cooking up a storm.
Save Windermere is led by Matt Staniek, a passionate 20-something who became concerned when he saw Windermere turning green with algae.
Hot and dry weather can also have an effect and help pollution spread.
Matt claims nutrients from pollutants such as phosphorus have densely accumulated to support the growth of algae which then depleted the lake of oxygen, harming wildlife.
He says: “This is being exacerbated by climate change, and by our lake system that is not adaptable to this threat because we’re having more and more excess nutrients enter the lake.
“The water is getting warmer and we have more flooding and droughts on the way which worsen algal bloom.
“We are looking at the death of Windermere.”
He’s angry. Really angry. He lays the blame at the feet of United Utilities for using the lake to dump huge amounts of wastewater.
It’s a charge the water company denies. It is legally allowed to discharge a set amount of wastewater during high rainfall periods to stop flooding.
A United Utilities spokesman said: “The factors affecting water quality in Windermere are complex and, without targeted action by multiple sectors, we will not see the changes we all want. This is why we are working with the Love Windermere partnership to increase the available data and evidence and prioritise action.
“For our own part we will continue to improve our operations and their contribution to the overall health of Windermere. In the last five years we have halved the amount of phosphorus that is now entering the lake from our processes.
“We know there is more to be done and in the next two years we are making an early start on reducing storm overflow operations at four locations around the lake.”
Save Windermere says while septic tanks and agricultural run-off will have a minor effect, United Utilities must take more responsibility.
Barney says Chefs4SaveWindermere is “a chance to say enough is enough, and to give Save Windermere the financial resources to challenge United Utilities and the Environment Agency.”
Five hundred people at the dining events – each paying £220 – agree with Barney and Matt.
The Save Windermere campaign continues. For more information, visit https://www.savewindermere.com/
To find out what United Utilities proposes to do at Windermere, visit https://www.unitedutilities.com/about-us/cumbria/windermere/
