Express & Star

Michelin-star chef Glyn rustles up his second children's book

West Midlands Michelin-starred chef and restaurant owner Glynn Purnell has released his second children's book after the success of his first.

Published
Glynn Purnell and Ashley King.

Glynn, from Birmingham, has written Arnold the Alpaca, about an alpaca who mistakenly gets chosen by a short-sighted farmer for his sheep farm.

The book, aimed at primary school-age children, sees Arnold learn how to fit in with the flock by using his differences to his advantage.

It comes after Glynn's success with his first children's book, The Magical Adventures of Whoops the Wonder Dog, in 2018.

Arnold the Alpaca.

He said: "I still remember the vivid images from the magical worlds of my favourite authors when I was younger - and I am excited that I have been able to create the same here.

"I hope it feels as fantastic and exciting for young people to read as it did for me to write. Having three children of my own, aged between 10 and 16, I have learned what enthralls and engages children. I got very involved in Arnold’s adventures even though I was writing them."

The chef, who teamed up with Nuneaton-based illustrator Ashley King to create the book, started penning it in March 2019 after being inspired by a short film on BBC1's Saturday Kitchen about the Copas Turkey Farm in Berkshire.

Protecting

The farm had a herd of 10 alpacas, with the important job of protecting 24,000 free-range turkeys from being attacked by foxes. The owner of the farm came up with the idea after a series of fox attacks resulted in hundreds of his birds being killed, which was what prompted Mr Purnell to write the book.

"It's not as strange as it sounds," he said.

"Alpacas are used all over the world to deter wild dogs and coyotes. For many years, farms have used dogs to keep the other animals and birds safe, but they can't be on the ranges all the time, unlike the alpacas who stay there day and night. The grass-eating alpacas are perfectly suited to the job because, while they will drive away foxes, they get on fine with other farm animals."

Glynn said the book – which is available from Amazon or from Purnell's Restaurant on Cornwall Street, Birmingham – had a main theme of encouraging people to be themselves.

He added: "Arnold finds himself in an environment where he is different to the rest of the flock, and he gets picked on by some of the sheep. They don’t like him because he looks different to them- he has a long neck and buck teeth. They bully him and leave him out of their activities. I wanted to address this in the book and highlight how great it is that Arnold is different, and how being different means that he has his own very important qualities."