GREAT British Bake Off star Sandy Docherty is putting gourmet bunny food on the menu at an animal show this month.

Sandy, from Yeadon, will be swapping flour for flowers and sugar for stems at the Burgess Premier Small Animal Show as she whips up wild food for rabbits at a cookery demo with a difference.

Instead of impressing the BBC Two Bake Off judges, she will need to show off her skills to a much fluffier panel of experts as she cooks for the region’s rabbits. Alongside Burgess Pet Care’s expert vet nutritionist Suzanne Moyes, Sandy will host the Show’s first-ever cookery theatre from January 30 to 31 at the Yorkshire Event Centre, at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.

Using a wide range of dark leafy greens, wild plants and herbs, and Burgess’s latest specialist food Nature’s Blend – a nugget food for rabbits made from wild hedgerow ingredients – the BBC 2 baker and Suzanne will take pet lovers on a behind the scenes demo that explores just what goes into nutritious nibbles for rabbits, and share lots of advice about how to give rabbits the best possible diet.

Dishes will include a Warren Waldorf with julienned celery and hawthorn berries and a Peter Rabbit Panzanella, combining diced tomato and shredded basil leaves with a dusting of Nature’s Blend, which combines vitamin-rich dandelion, nettle and lemon balm with probiotics and Lucerne extract.

Approximately 3,000 small animals and their breeders, including cavies, chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, mice and rabbits, will be attending the show – one of the longest running and biggest events of its kind in the UK. A Discovery Area will be set up to allow children to handle small animals and take part in competitions and activities.

"The show is all about education, with hundreds of small animal experts under one roof, and we hope our cookery demo with a difference will be a fun way to learn more about pet nutrition and give people ideas for how to give their pets the best possible menu at lunchtimes," said Suzanne.

Pet lovers will also be able to pick up a half-price pack of the new Burgess Nature’s Blend at the cookery theatre.

Visit www.thesmallanimalshow.co.uk to find out more about the event.