Top cooking gurus Madhur Jaffrey and Gordon Ramsay have joined forces with international development charity VSO to support its Spice Up Your Life event. Along with a whole host of celebrity chefs including Ken Hom, Nick Nairn, Gary Rhodes and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Madhur and Gordon are supporting the campaign to raise £100,000 for VSO's work in HIV and AIDS in India. During Spice Up Your Life week from 3-13 March 2005 VSO will be cooking up a recipe for change.

You can join in with the three easy steps:

1. cook your favourite people a curry
2. ask for a donation
3. give people living with HIV and AIDS in India a chance of a
better life.

The Spice Up Your Life website is the place to get curry night inspiration, and be in with the chance of winning top prizes of Cobra beer for a year or a holiday to India courtesy of lastminute.com. There are party theme ideas from a Bollywood bash to a Goa beach party and quizzes to test your knowledge of India, curry and HIV.

VSO is encouraging businesses to sit down and be counted as well. PricewaterhouseCoopers has already promised to match donations from its employees' curry nights and will be serving curry during Spice Up Your Life week in its staff canteens.

In support of the event Madhur Jaffrey said: "Curry contains many healing properties but the thought of it helping VSO against HIV and AIDS in India is very exciting."

Ben Langdon, Event Manager at VSO says: "Curry is the nation's favourite dish so we're urging people to have a curry for a cause. Spice Up Your Life is a easy way to raise money for VSO and socialise with your family and friends as well. The money raised will go towards supporting VSO volunteers in India working in HIV and AIDS projects. These are vital for the long-term development of India where five million people have HIV, the second highest rate in the world."

VSO volunteers in India do vital work in combating stigma of HIV, supporting prevention and increasing the availability of treatment, care and support for those affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

For celebrity recipes, to request a pack and loads more ideas visit www.vso.org.uk/spice or call 020 8780 7289.

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