A top Cumbrian chef is set to self-publish a cookbook thanks to Kickstarter.
Ben Queen-Fryer, chef and co-owner of The Dog and Gun, based in Skelton, has successfully raised enough money through a Kickstarter campaign to create a cookbook that celebrates his restaurant’s evolution.
The glass collector turned Michelin starred chef needed £16,000 by August 1 to get the project off the ground – but after only 28 days of fundraising, the team have managed to raise over £20,486.
Kickstarter is a fundraising platform for creative projects – so in contrast to a charity-style fundraiser, people raising money on the platform can reward the people who back their projects.
Those pledging support for Ben’s Kickstarter were able to choose a reward based on how much they donated.
These included pre-orders of the cookbook, a soufflé masterclass, vouchers, and more – with the highest reward being a private six-course dinner party for up to 10 guests.
Ben said: “Just a bit of help from a lot of people has got us over the line and it’s very special to have that kind of support. I’m going to be sending out a proper thank you to everyone who pledged and backed us.
“Obviously we’re absolutely over the moon and now we’re setting about the task of fulfilling all the pledges. It isn’t a charity thing, everyone has bought into something whether it was a pre-order of the book or the soufflé masterclass.
“Over 150 people have pledged on the Kickstarter and it’s been excellent to see what people think of what we’re doing and the trust they have in the product. We just want to give anyone who pledged our deepest thanks from all of us here.”
Ben said while he was hopeful about the fundraiser – he had experienced some nerves over hitting the target goal.
He added: “I was a bit uncertain, I didn’t think it was out of our reach because we do have a lot of strong support from a lot of different people. But we don’t have a PR machine or anything like that, it’s just me and Dave cooking and Sandra doing front of house.
“We put it out there out there and saw how people responded and thankfully enough people put trust in us to pre-order or pledge and believe in us that we’d deliver something worthwhile and I hope we’ve offered things of value with the rewards and and book.”
Ben said that work on the cookbook is already in full swing with the restaurant closing last week to work on photography with top food photographer John Carey.
He added: “It’s a bit of an honour to have him come and do photography with us and we’re working with designer Marie O’Shepherd, who has worked on some incredible cookbooks.
“Real top end publishers are using those guys so to be able to get them involved in our little thing is pretty special.
“We’re hoping with their influence and our recipes that we will have something that is representative of the restaurant and will stand the test of time, look lovely and be genuinely useful for people.”
The Dog and Gun Cookbook will feature 70 recipes and will walk readers through Ben’s culinary evolution.
It is also set to be printed and designed locally by Reeds based in Penrith and Ben is hoping to get local bookshops on board.
The Dog and Gun Cookbook will be available for pre-order by late November or early December and ready just in time for Christmas this year.
People will be able to pre-order the book from the restaurant’s website in November.
