Thousands of pounds are raised at a charity lunch hosted by Raymond Blanc

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Pan fried gnocchi, Roquefort blue cheese, Braeburn apple, celery and chestnuts

Seared haddock fillet, wilted spinach, white wine shallot potatoes, lemon butter sauce

Spiced sultana and hazelnut baked apple with vanilla ice cream and calvados syrup

Special thanks to Pedal for Yorkshire sponsors Brasserie Blanc, Leeds, in particular Jayne Castle, the general manager and head chef Saurabh Hirve.Nicholsons Jewellers of Ilkley.The HACS Group, Harrogate.Kate Mallender Photography, Stamford Bridge, York.Lazenby Brown, York.Russell Eaton Lifestyle Salon, Leeds.

Thousands of pounds are raised at a charity lunch hosted by Raymond Blanc

Readers showed just how generous they are at the Pedal for Yorkshire charity lunch hosted by celebrated chef Raymond Blanc at his restaurant in Leeds. More than �4,000 was raised at the event sending the year’s campaign total in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care in Yorkshire, over its �25,000 target.

Raymond Blanc is patron of Pedal for Yorkshire, founded by Fiona Movley, from Ben Rhydding, West Yorkshire, who with a team of supporters, has worked to raise money for Marie Curie allowing more cancer patients in the region to receive care at home. Yorkshire Life readers supported the 2010 campaign by joining organised fundraising events or creating their own. More than 100 readers joined us for the charity lunch at Brasserie Blanc by the Leeds waterfront during which they enjoyed a champagne reception followed by a three course meal.

Among the special guests at the lunch was Eunice Bellfield, a Marie Curie Cancer Care nurse who works with cancer patients and their families in their homes. ‘This is a wonderful event,’ she said. ‘Everyone is so generous, it is wonderful to know there is such support for the work we do.’

Raymond Blanc, who worked as a junior nurse in France before becoming a chef, thanked Eunice for the work she and her colleagues do. ‘I cannot say how much I admire what you do,’ he said. ‘I was a junior nurse for a year but I couldn’t go on. I did not have the courage to go on.’

Fiona Movley explained how Pedal for Yorkshire was founded. She said: ‘I wanted to do something to help cancer patients get the care they wanted in their own home. My husband Scott and I together with friends had already cycled coast to coast to raise money for Marie Curie and thought we could take it further by encouraging others to do the same and Pedal for Yorkshire was launched.’

Pedal for Yorkshire’s aim in 2010 was to raise the same amount of money it costs to fund a Marie Curie nurse for one year in this region which has been achieved. ‘I just want to say a big thank you to Raymond and to Gaynor Barnes from Calendar television and to our sponsors and Yorkshire Life readers, who have helped us raise so much money,’ said Fiona.

‘We are so pleased to be able to hand over such a large sum of money. We have beaten our target and that is thanks to the generosity of people all around the county who have got on their bikes and pedalled for Yorkshire.

‘It’s because of the generosity of Raymond, Brasserie Blanc and Yorkshire Life readers that we have been able to hit our target. So many people have played a part in helping us reach this fantastic figure. Everyone has been very imaginative with their fund-raising ideas and if they couldn’t cycle have created events to fit in with the theme.’

Tracy Calcraft, regional fundraising manager for Marie Curie Cancer Care, added her thanks. ‘It is with the support of initiatives like Pedal for Yorkshire that we are able to continue to give 24-hour care to cancer patients in their own homes, at a time when they need it most.’

To find out more about Pedal for Yorkshire follow them on www.twitter.com/pedalyorkshire.