A PENSIONER who admits to being a "plain cook" saw her dream come true when she met celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott.

Ruth Holmes, from Haughton, Darlington, won a competition in The Northern Echo to have lunch with the presenter of BBC's Ready Steady Cook.

Mrs Holmes, 79, has four children. Although she enjoys cooking, she admitted to leaving the "more complicated" dishes to her daughters.

She and her daughter-in-law, Angela Holmes, joined Ainsley at London West End restaurant L'Etoile for a three-course meal.

She correctly identified the ingredients of Ainsley's latest supermarket dish, flavoured cous cous, to win the competition. It is made from durum wheat semolina.

Mrs Holmes also won a copy of Ainsley's most recent book, Barbecue Bible, and a £50 gift voucher.

She said: "I am a plain cook, nothing fancy, but Angela and my daughters are much more adventurous, so it was lovely to meet someone like Ainsley, who can cook a fantastic meal from next to nothing.

"We had a wonderful lunch and he really made everyone feel at ease. It was a fantastic day."