Chef urges festive shoppers to consider alternative gifts

HOLY GUACAMOLE: Chef Jenny Curran with her dish of sweet potato waffles, sliced avocado and poached eggs - made from some of Concern'"s Christmas gifts. (Submitted Pic.)

Local chef and daredevil Jenny Curran has teamed up with overseas aid charity Concern Worldwide to encourage Ballymena and Antrim shoppers to support its alternative Christmas gifts.

The healthy food blogger and former Miss NI contestant has had a blast in the kitchen whipping up the brunch of her dreams using avocados, sweet potatoes and eggs – just a few of the life-changing gifts that could benefit disadvantaged communities in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The more than 25 gifts on offer also include paying school fees for children living in Kenya’s slums, providing wells for communities in Malawi without clean water, and supplying mosquito nets to help combat malaria in places like South Sudan.

This isn’t the first time that Jenny has been involved in supporting Concern. She has taken part in the charity’s challenge to live on only £5 for a week, and the Great Ethiopian Run for Concern where she saw first-hand the impact of its work in transforming lives. Last year, with the support of the people of Ballymena and Antrim, Concern delivered more than 10,000 gifts to families around the world. Find out more at www.concerngifts.org or call 0800 032 4001.