A FAMILY from Sacriston have won £200 in a national cooking contest - with their curry night.

Catherine Pugh, 33, and her two sons, Logan, 11, and Drew, 10, were chosen from thousands of people who took part in the Children’s Food Trust’s BIG Cookathon event, which is designed to get families cooking and eating together at home.

“Saturday night is our curry night,” said Ms Pugh.

“We always shop for the ingredients and cook together. I try to get the boys interested - it’s important that they know how to cook.

“It’s much more fun to cook than picking up the phone and ordering a takeaway. We all have fun when we cook together as a family.”

The BIG Cookathon, which is now in its seventh year, is the biggest mass cooking event in the country. This year’s competition is supported by Ben’s Beginners, which aims to get more children cooking with their families, and the Big Lottery Fund.

Linda Cregan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Food Trust , said: “Cooking and eating together are such powerful ways to bring communities and families together, and that’s what the BIG Cookathon is all about. We’re so thrilled that Catherine and her family took part.

“We’ve already helped three million people learn to cook through our cookery programme. Most of our club members use their new cooking skills at home, and more than half tell us they now eat more healthily – which shows that learning to cook really can make a big difference to how we eat.”

To find out more about the Children’s Food Trust’s BIG Cookathon visit the website http://letsgetcookingathome.org.uk/bigcookathon