A KEEN cook who kicked off a campaign to save Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce has scooped half a dozen bottles after winning a Worcester News competition.

Maura Redmond inspired our Save Our Sauce campaign when she sent in a tantalising recipe for chicken marinade, using the county's famous sauce.

Mrs Redmond, of Astwood Road, Worcester, said: "I'm pleased to have helped raise the profile of Worcestershire Sauce. It's been great and I've picked up a couple of recipes along the way."

The campaign was launched following a food scare in which hundreds of items were taken off the shelves after it was discovered the banned dye Sudan 1 had been used in Crosse & Blackwell's rival Worcester Sauce.

The locally-produced, original was unaffected, but Mrs Redmond feared people were still avoiding the Lea & Perrins brand.

So she sent in a recipe to the Worcester News to inspire people to keep using the sauce. Recipes then flooded in from Worcestershire folk, including from one man who said used a bottle a fortnight.

It was a tough decision to pick the best recipe, but along with Lea & Perrins, we decided Mrs Redmond deserved the prize.

"We are delighted to have been associated with this competition, which we think has enhanced the importance of the Worcester community to Lea & Perrins," said Ray Robinson, manager of the firm's factory in Midland Road, Worcester.

Lea & Perrins honey and barbecue chicken

For the marinade, sauce-supporting chefs will need:

Four tablespoons of olive oil

One finely chopped onion

A crushed garlic clove

A tin of chopped tomatoes

Two tablespoons of

Worcestershire Sauce

A tablespoon of honey

Four to six chicken portions (skinned chicken drumsticks for

a low fat version)

Cooked rice to serve

Mix the olive oil, onion, clove, tomatoes, Worcestershire Sauce, and honey together in a saucepan and gently simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the chicken in the oven until tender, adding a few tablespoons of the saucepan liquor to keep moist.

When the chicken is ready, transfer to a bed of rice and serve with the sauce poured on top.

Garnish with cooked mushrooms, quartered tomatoes and watercress.