A schoolboy missing his favourite school dinner wrote to his headteacher asking for the recipe.
His father Anthony attempted to recreate his beloved mince and dumplings dish, but it went down like a lead balloon.
So Arthur wrote to headteacher Tim Jones, pleading for help, and the letter did the trick – Mr Jones contacted the catering team at North Tyneside Council which provided step-by-step instructions.
In the handwritten note, Arthur said: “Dear Mr Jones, I have missed you. But what I have missed most is the dinner ladies’ mince and dumplings.
“It’s the best food ever. Please can we have the secret recipe for mince and dumplings.”
The eight-year-old made no attempt to spare his father’s feelings, describing his homemade version of the meal as “very bad”.
Mr Jones said the letter brought some much-needed light relief.
He said: “It most definitely put a smile on my face reading it, especially as I can imagine him telling his dad exactly what he thought of his home-made version.”
Arthur’s mother, Dawn, said her husband has since used the school recipe and had much better results.
She said: “Arthur loved making this meal with his daddy… and it turned out to be really, really tasty.
“When Antony last tried to make this, it did not pass Arthur’s exacting standards. It was not as good as the school’s.
“This time, though, Arthur loved it and gave it the thumbs-up. We’ll be making it again next week.”
