New book offers A Taste of Holy Island

A Taste of Holy Island features a selection of eye-catching images by TV director Roy Player and recipes concocted by resident chef Victoria Mundy, who runs Pilgrims Coffee House.

The book celebrates the island’s food, life and history, told through Roy’s lens and archive research, and Victoria’s locally-inspired dishes, some of which have been passed down through generations of her family.

The pair are delighted with the book and admit that it is a realisation of a dream, which began with a chat four years ago.

Roy, who lives in York, said: “I have been coming to Holy Island for years – I just love the place. I was in Pilgrims and I asked if I could display some of my photographs on the wall – Victoria agreed – and she said that she’d love to have some of her recipes in a book. That started the idea and now we’ve done it. It’s been fascinating and, not only does the book combine pictures and recipes, but it also includes lovely little stories about the island.”

Victoria has run Pilgrims – at Holy Island’s Marygate – with her husband Andrew for more than a decade. Their Pilgrims Coffee brand is part of the Produced in Northumberland accreditation scheme.

The book features dishes served at the venue, as well as others, and recipes include Causeway Cockles. It also promotes a range of local producers and showcases the variety of Northumberland produce.

Victoria said: “I’d wanted to do this for a long time, but the next step was doing it. I don’t think I could have done it without Roy and the project ended up bigger than we intended.”

The book is available from Pilgrims and some other local shops.