As mentioned last month, Betty Charles, a key member of our administration team, along with her husband and mum reached the final of the BBC’s Big Family Cooking Showdown which saw sixteen families face challenges in the kitchen to make ordinary food extraordinary.

And the hardest challenge of them all? Betty has no doubts. “It was keeping the outcome of each round a secret from everyone here at Hudson Contract. Juggling both the cooking show and enquiries from my colleagues became a bit of a struggle as we got further and further into the competition,” Betty confides. “Round by round, as we got closer and closer to the final and practiced for the challenges, there were lots of late nights, cooking the same dish over and over again, striving for perfection.

“Then at work, when I bought food in, while people seemed happy to eat my arancini for five days in a row, they naturally wanted to know all about the show – especially in the aftermath of the final, which was filmed well ahead of the screening.

“It’s such a relief to be able to share it with everyone now. Everyone has been so supportive and I have had some lovely well wishes from our clients, too.  It’s been a whirlwind experience and even though we didn’t win it will be something, as a family, we will treasure forever.”

Hudson Contract’s Managing Director Ian Anfield comments: “Betty would be a huge asset to any restaurant anywhere in the country. Selfishly, I am delighted that she is a member of our team at Hudson Contract. She is a winner in every respect.”