Bolton Food and Drink Festival celebrates its 10th birthday this summer with another packed menu of celebrity chefs.
Actress and winner of Celebrity MasterChef 2010 Lisa Faulkner will be joining the festival for the first time alongside boyfriend – and MasterChef presenter – Aussie chef John Torode, who is back after wowing audiences last year.
CBeebies star Katy Ashworth and festival favourites James Martin and Michael Caines – who both have restaurants in Manchester city centre – completing the impressive line-up.
The four-day foodie spectacular, organised by Bolton Council, will take place from Friday, August 28 to Monday, August 31.
Relive yesterday’s fun at #boltonfoodfest we can’t wait to do it all again but even bigger for our 10th anniversary! http://t.co/oZyHZnufVA
— BoltonFoodFest (@BoltonFoodFest) August 26, 2014
As well as the celebrity chef cookery demos in a marquee on Victoria Square and a speciality food and drink market, organisers have added new special events in honour of the festival’s 10th birthday.
Highlights include an afternoon tea on the Saturday with Faulkner as a special guest and cakes provided by acclaimed chocolatier and pattisier Slattery, from Whitefield.
Lisa said: “I’m really excited about being a part of the festival. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of lovely people at the afternoon tea and cooking up a few recipes from my latest book.”
A street party atmosphere will take over the town on Sunday and Torode will entertain the crowds with his demos.
He said: “I had a ball last time and how brilliant to be invited back to join in the birthday celebrations. There’s nothing I like more than a good birthday party, and a visit to my favourite Thai!”
Children’s television favourite Katy Ashworth will be doing live shows daily but on Monday she will host a special birthday cake decorating day for her young fans.
Look who we’ve just had visiting us on the information point! Plucky the chicken…. pic.twitter.com/BdNEWT3bLf
— BoltonFoodFest (@BoltonFoodFest) August 24, 2014
She said: “I had such an amazing time at the last festival, and I’m thrilled to be coming back. I’m looking forward to lots of dancing, singing and I know it’s going to be a huge amount of fun – especially the cake decorating!”
James Martin will notch up his seventh appearance on Monday, the final day of the festival.
The footprint of the festival is also larger this year – Le Mans Crescent will be home to two marquees – one for the regional chef cookery demos and one for Katy’s shows.
Councillor Cliff Morris, leader of Bolton Council, said: “The event is a real celebration of the best of local and regional produce, with traders coming from far and wide.
“Last year’s festival was our biggest yet with more than 150,000 visitors and we’re hoping for even more this year, particularly with the new events we have planned.
Need a quick reminder of what we got up to at the festival this year? Then look no furher http://t.co/KkqDOk4BQn #boltonfoodfest
— BoltonFoodFest (@BoltonFoodFest) September 5, 2014
“It’s fantastic to have Lisa coming this year and together with John Torode and our festival regulars James Martin and Michael Caines we’ve got a spectacular line-up of chefs.
“Katy Ashworth was a big hit with our young visitors last year and we’re pleased she’s coming back. It’s going to be a birthday to remember.”
Tickets for the celebrity chef demos, Katy’s shows, and the special events will go on sale on Saturday, May 23.
To keep up to date with the latest news visit http://www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com, follow Bolton Food and Drink Festival page on Facebook or @boltonfoodfest on Twitter.
