9:00am Tuesday 6th January 2009
By Keighley News reporter
A television programme has paid dividends for one of Keighley’s most popular tourist attractions.
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway has seen demand for its restaurant carriages soar in the wake of its recent appearance on BBC2. It featured in the programme Indian Food Made Easy. Presenter Anjum Anand and railway volunteer chef Jessica Thewlis cooked and served a classic Indian dish to serve to diners in a 1930s-era Pullman carriage.
Since then, railway volunteers have had to add extra carriages to their services to cope with a surge in interest from visitors.
Railway spokesman, Jim Shipley, said: “We’ve been taken aback by the number of bookings from all over the British Isles — many far from our more usual catchment area.
“We normally only operate five of these wine and dine trains each year under the names White Rose Pullman and West Riding Ltd.
“We’re now looking to provide extra seats by adding another carriage.
“But it’s quite a complicated business when you remember that everything served on these trains is cooked from fresh by our team of volunteers in our genuine 1960s kitchen car — literally a full scale hotel kitchen on rails.
“It was that vehicle which so fascinated the programme’s producers. We also give a theme to each of our dining trains, so in view of the extraordinary response to Indian Food Made Easy we’re looking at having an Indian-themed train.”
The railway’s catering has previously attracted awards, with its real ale buffet cars drawing particular praise. The Campaign for Real Ale has also named it Pub of the Season on several occasions.
For dining car bookings, contact Haworth Station on 01535 645214 or see the website kwvr.co.uk.
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