KATIE BULMER-COOKE: A taste of Mackem heaven

Part of the project we were there to work on was a nutrition programme, and as we began to discuss a meal plan I realised that no one else calls the meal you have in the middle of the day, at around 12pm, ‘dinner’. They all call it lunch and thought the idea of using the word dinner to describe a mid-day meal was crazy talk.

It also turns out that no one else around the table and representing other cities in the UK, call their evening meal ‘tea’, they call that ‘dinner’ or ‘supper.’

Do they not realise that this is complete madness and that in fact your three meals of the day are in fact, breakfast, dinner and tea?

It did make me wonder how we in Sunderland came to label our meals so differently from everyone else? I actually think it’s really cool that we are different and that everyone else is wrong!

Now speaking of local language, did you know that Friday, August 12 is National Mackem Day? Yes, that’s right, a national day that celebrates all things Mackem!

For those who read my column regularly, you will know how much the idea of this day fills me with excitement! I can’t wait!

And it gets better...to mark this glorious day there is a special launch night for the second edition of my favourite book in the world (no it’s not Harry Potter or 50 Shades), The Mackem Dictionary.

The event will be held at The Royalty Theatre and will celebrate all things Sunderland and will feature the author of the book, Paul Swinney, who will be sharing his inspiration for the book and the stories behind it.

There will also be music from local bands The Futureheads, The Lake Poets and Barry Hyde.

But the Mackem-based fun doesn’t end there, as rumour has it there will also be the legendary dish panackelty, Double Maxim and sarsaparilla tablets.

To some it up, it basically sounds like Mackem heaven to me!

I bought my tickets the day they came out, and it really would be ace to see as many people as possible turning out to support this event. Tickets are only £10 and are available at The A Love Supreme Shop, the SAFC Museum and Hot Rats.

Also this week it was confirmed that I will be presenting a brand new show on Made in Tyne and Wear, which will also be shown across their national network, called Fit in the Kitchen.

I’ll be sharing the screen with Joe Sexton of Fat Loss Feasts. Joe specialises in healthy cooking and he will be taking all of our favourite junk food meals and showing viewers how to make the healthy version.

Joe is amazing at this, and the food he produces not only looks beautiful, it tastes sensational, so I’m very much looking forward to eating it all when the cameras stop rolling.

We’ve got some super guests lined up for the show too, so if you’re a fan of the Mackem dictionary or Britain’s Got Talent then you don’t want to miss the show when it airs in September (I’m not giving any more clues away just now.)

Have a great week and I hope to see lots of Echo readers at The National Mackem Day event.