SHE’S been combining her Indian cooking skills with tireless charity fundraising for years, but Bhupinder Virdee Lace isn’t stopping there.

It’s fair to say the 43-year-old mother-of-one from Upton has become a well-known face in Chester thanks to all her fundraising efforts in the city.

And this month Bhupinder rolls up her sleeves to make more of her mouth-watering dishes to support an educational fundraising project run by the Countess of Chester Hospital.

At the event, which is being held to raise money for the Countess staff to visit the Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda and teach the staff medical skills, Bhupinder will be cooking and hosting an Indian feast at Chester Racecourse’s 1539 restaurant.

“It’s a great project to get involved with and I’m hoping we can raise about £2,000,” she said.

This will be Bhupinder’s fourth fundraising event at 1539 alone.

Last year she held a cooking evening to help victims of the Pakistani Monsoon, in June this year she raised money for pupils of Wrexham’s St Christopher’s special needs school, where she teaches RE, to participate in the National Welsh Athletics Games in Cardiff, and earlier this year she raised £1,471 towards Chester-based Rhiannon Thomson’s Mount Kilimanjaro trek for Save the Family.

“It is so lovely to be involved in good causes, and especially an educational one like the Countess project,” added Bhupinder, who is mum to eight-year-old Michael.

“There are so many people in the world who have a lack of education and a lack of money and it shouldn’t be like that. Why should it be that wherever you’re born determines the privileges you get?

“I thoroughly enjoy doing all the fundraisers. I’ve been doing them since I was at school, always raising money for something or someone. It’s also a good way to keep up my skills!”

Her charity work this year led Birmingham-born Bhupinder, who has lived in Chester for 19 years, to win the Teacher of the Year award at her school in July – an accolade she describes as ‘making it all worthwhile’.

She added: “It really was a lovely feeling to win. But my fundraising isn’t just to get awards, I do it to help those who aren’t as fortunate.

“A lot of it is about awareness and appreciating what we have. Fundraising is something I know I will always do.”

Bhupinder will be taking over the kitchen at 1539 restaurant at Chester Racecourse and cooking traditional Indian cuisine on Sunday, September 11, tickets priced £20. For details, call Bhupinder on 07763 583820.