Once described by celebrity chef James Martin as "the best food festival in the world", Bolton's annual celebration of food, drink and live music returns to the town centre this bank holiday weekend.
The former Saturday Kitchen presenter is among an all-star line-up of TV chefs, who will be cooking up a storm for the public with live cookery demonstrations across the festival. Ainsley Harriott, Si King from the Hairy Bikers, and Masterchef winner Simon Wood will also be showing off their skills in the festival kitchen.
There will be more than 180 market stalls, two music stages, and a number of special ticketed events such as the Faulty Towers Dining Experience and an Afternoon Tea with a Twist with Bury-born Emmerdale star Lisa Riley. Top tribute acts such as Kazabian, Tommy Holland and Electro 80's will headline the main music stage, while up-and-coming local artists such as Ryan Jarvis, Holly Jenkinson and James Casper Mason will also perform across the four days.
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It is a family friendly event and there will be be plenty of children’s activities as well, including the Ancient World’s marquee, an arcade offering with video games projected onto huge screens, silent discos and chill out areas for teens complete with mobile phone charging units. Here is everything you need to know about Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2022.
When is Bolton Food and Drink Festival?
The festival will take place this bank holiday weekend (Friday August 26 to Monday August 29). The first chef demonstration of the weekend takes place in Bolton Market at 10.30am on Friday and the first musical performance is at midday on the acoustic stage. Meanwhile, the first special ticketed event is at 12.30pm on the Friday and it is a gin masterclass, held in the Albert Halls, in Victoria Square.
On Monday, the final musical performance draws to a close at 6pm and in previous years, most of the food stalls have packed away by this time as well.
How to get to Bolton Food and Drink Festival
- By car – Bolton is easily accessible by road and there are a number of car parks dotted around the car centre. The multi-storey car parks at the Octagon Theatre and Market Place Shopping Centre are the closest to the action.
- By public transport - Bolton Railway Station is a very short walk from all the festivities and trains usually run frequently between Manchester and Bolton. The railway station is connected to Bolton bus Interchange and bus services from Manchester are also regular.
Which celebrity chefs are set to appear?
One half of The Hairy Bikers - Si King - will appear on Saturday, alongside his friend and TV presenter Jenny Powell, for three demonstrations at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
Ainsley Harriott teamed up with Farnworth restaurant Royal Balti House to create a special dish dubbed the 'Bolti' during a previous appearance at Bolton Food and Drink Festival. He will appear again on Sunday, with demos at 11am, 1pm. At 3pm, he will battle it out against top regional chefs - with the audience voting for a winner.
James Martin has become something of a regular at Bolton Food and Drink Festival in the past few years and he will be appearing again in 2022. On Monday, he will present three cookery demonstrations at 11am, 1pm and 4pm.
All of the celebrity chef demonstrations will be in the Albert Halls, with tickets available to buy from Quay Tickets.
There will also be free demos from top regional chefs such as Bake Off contestants Makbul Patel and Phil Thorne, Robert Owen Brown, Gareth Mason, and Masterchef winner Simon Wood.
What stalls will be there?
There will be more than 180 market stalls in total. These include returning favourites such as Dutch Fishman, What’s Your Beef, Churtopia and Istanbul Kitchen.
If previous years are anything to go off, there is certainly something for everyone's tastes and will no doubt leave many mouths watering as people try and decide what to go for.
There are also Bolton Food and Drink Festival wristbands for £2 each, which can be used to get exclusive discounts from a number of festival traders over the weekend. They can also be used in participating restaurants, pubs and cafes throughout the whole of August and September. Wristbands can be purchased online or bought from the museum shop.
What musicians are playing?
There are two stages - the main stage in Le Mans Crescent and the acoustic stage in Victoria Square.
This year, the main stage headliners are all tribute acts. Top Elvis tribute artist Tommy Holland will close the main stage on Friday, with The Killaz UK, Kazabian, and Northern Soul train taking the honours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, respectively.
If you wish that you were at Leeds Festival on Sunday for Arctic Monkeys' headline set, then Bolton Food and Drink Festival has tried to get the next best thing with Arctic Monkeyz also performing in Le Mans Crescent that evening. There are also tributes to Oasis, Happy Mondays, New Order and Shed Seven that day.
Throughout the weekend, musical favourites from Bolton's live music scene, such as Ryan Jarvis, Holly Jenkinson, Mike Roberts and James Casper Mason will also perform across both stages. For stage times, visit the Bolton Food and Drink Festival website.
Are there any special events?
As always, there are a number of special ticketed events at the festival.
The Faulty Towers Dining Experience - which takes its name from the similarly named TV show Fawlty Towers - takes place at 7pm on Sunday evening and is an improvised interactive event. Diners will also get a three-course meal included in the ticket price of £55.
There are two afternoon teas across the weekend, including one with a 'twist', at 2pm, on Saturday. Emmerdale star Lisa Riley will host as Sushma Snacks serves up incredible Indian street food. If you prefer a traditional afternoon tea, there will be delicious scones with local jam and other delectable desserts, at 2pm on Sunday.
If you fancy a bit of a tipple then there are Gin Masterclasses throughout the weekend, featuring James Martin Gin. Tickets for all of the special events are available to buy from Quay Tickets.
What is there to do for kids?
If your children aren't foodies but you don't want to leave them out then don't fret because there is loads of free activities on offer for kids as well.
The Ancient World’s themed children’s marquee is open from 10am to 4pm daily and offers free activities, such as sand pits, crafts, time traveller storytelling, magic shows, face painting and games. The marquee can be found on Howell Croft North.
In Victoria Square, the former Hayes Travel unit has been transformed into a games and chill area. Open from 10am to 6pm Friday through Sunday and 10am to 5pm on Monday, there will be video games, air hockey, table football and other big games. There are also mobile charging units and chill out zones for teenagers. contains mobile phone charging and chill out zones for teens too.
There will be a silent disco and Mario Kart projected onto a huge screen at the former Virgin Media store on Oxford Street - open from 10am to 7pm Friday through Sunday and 10am to 5pm on Monday - and a supersized volleyball court, open from 10am to 5pm daily and located at Octagon Plaza.
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