I got into plant-based food after I had my first child. So over four years ago. But I’ve never really eaten meat or much dairy. All the meals I make are the same meals I make for my family, so I thought I’d start to make a bit extra...

Street food was becoming quite a big thing in London. And a friend of mine who used to run one of our restaurants had moved back there, and he was always telling about these really cool, specialist street food vendors. Popping up into shops, doing one thing really well; whether that's burgers or pizza or whatever. So I went up there and had a look, and realised there was a distinct lack of high-quality barbeque chicken in Bournemouth and Poole. You had what you might deem your lower-quality, regular fried chicken, and Nando's, which is more your dine-in chicken restaurant. An opportunity arose to take a shop with a few friends, and Chicken & Blues was born...

The 2020 Dorset Tourism Awards were hosted online. Forming a welcome distraction from the difficulties the hospitality industry has faced this past year. Awards organiser Robin Barker said: “It would have been very easy to cancel the awards this year. We did think long and hard about it, but the level of early entries we received in spite of everything, and the creativity and determination shown by entrants inspired us to find a way to make this happen – and your responses and feedback ever since have completely blown us away."

The competition, which is in its eighth year, will end with its awards day, scheduled for 4th February. Although tourism has endured unprecedented times due to the pandemic, it is only right that the awards go ahead. Clare Bushby of Clockwork Marketing, which sponsors the awards, said, “The Dorset Tourism Awards are more vital than ever before. They provide normality during a surreal time, where everything seems weighted against hospitality...”

Plenty of people have sought to improve their cooking skills whilst stuck at home over the past year, and that’s a trend Kate Liana...