Chelsea Pensioners and celebs launch kitchen offensive

Proving that "an army ­marches on its stomach", the Chelsea Pensioners are teaming up with celebrity foodies to launch a fund­raising cookbook.

A Salute to Cooking, which is published by indie publisher Bene Factum, features more than 100 recipes, including Joanna Lumley's sephardic orange cake and London mayor Boris Johnson's cheese on toast. Celebrity chef rivals Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay are also contributing, with Oliver offering "Honeymoon Spaghetti" which he discovered during his Italian honeymoon, and Ramsay submitting "London Particular", a ham and pea soup inspired by London's thick "pea souper" fogs.

All profits will help fund the modernisation of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The idea for the book came from Angela Currie, wife of Major-General Peter Currie, lieutenant governor of the Royal Hospital. After meeting through mutual friends, Currie began to co-ordinate the title with Bene Factum m.d. Anthony Weldon. Weldon said: "I see this project as being in line with all the other fundraising for the military going on at the moment. The hospital has a traditional façade, but what goes on behind it is very contemporary."

Famous figures proved easy to persuade to contribute. Weldon said: "I was able to get photographer Mario Testino and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, but everyone was so keen to support the cause. The Chelsea Pensioners are national treasures."

The recipes will be grouped according to courses,­ with cakes and snacks also included. There will be two set menus; a "Victory Menu" provided by cookery writer Marguerite Patten, developed from her Second World War recipes, and Baroness Thatcher's "Cabinet Lunch", detailing the three-course meal she used to serve during her time as prime minister. A "Field Marshal's Fare" chapter will comprise recipes from the six living Field Marshals (the rank is currently suspended), including the Duke of Edinburgh. The book will also include a foreword by the Prince of Wales.

A Salute to Cooking will be launched on 13th October in hardback, priced £14.99. Weldon said the book would be targeted at the Christmas gift market. "The book is aimed at everyone, especially those looking for an affordable Christmas or birthday present who would also like to think that their money was going to a great cause," said Currie.