A Keighley councillor has thrown down the gauntlet to chefs and cooks from near and far to improve the quality of their culinary efforts.

After a series of miserable Christmas dinners Councillor Lynn Joyce, the ward councillor for Keighley south, has decided enough is enough and is on the look out for an imaginative chef.

Cllr Joyce has to live on a strict diet due to a severe intolerancy to gluten, a condition thought to affect about 3 per cent of the population.

She says: "I have to avoid wheat flour, barley flour and anything derived from oats. I can't eat bread or pasta or anything with modified starch in it, and the type of catering I get in England is crap. There's no other word for it."

At many of the social and official engagements Cllr Joyce attends, she is frequently presented with a bland and uninspiring meal.

"When everybody else was enjoying a good Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, I was given just a slice of turkey and boiled veg. That's typical of what I get," says Cllr Joyce.

And at a conference in Coventry last year the professional caterers -- having been informed in advance of her dietary requirements -- presented her with a plate of lettuce! She has also threatened to throw her meal over the next waiter who serves her grilled fish followed by fresh fruit salad.

Cllr Joyce says: "It's all about raising awareness for the condition and I have been to restaurants in Keighley that have dealt with it very well. Typically, however, they take things off the plate but don't think to replace them.

"And I will give a big kiss to the first person who can come up with an interesting pudding," she adds.

* Are you a chef at a local restaurant? Do you think you are up to Cllr Joyce's challenge? If so, call the Keighley News on 01535 606611 today.