A popular North East food festival going ahead in April has announced the first round of celebrity chefs that will be on its line up.
Bishop Auckland Food Festival, which was headlined by MasterChef presenter John Torode in October 2021, takes place on April 23 and 24 and is part of Durham County Council's bid to become UK City of Culture 2025.
And now, demonstrators for Sunday have been unveiled, with Michelin star chef Jean-Christophe Novelli taking to the stage to share cooking tips from his long and successful career.
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Over his career, Jean-Christophe has accumulated four consecutive Michelin stars and has opened several fine-dining restaurants in London, as well as restaurants in his home country of France.
Jean-Christophe will be joined on the stage by Great British Bake off finalist Chigs Parmar, a self-taught baker and huge foodie who only learned to bake during the first Covid lockdown.
The third chef is local favourite Mike Bartley, who appeared on Masterchef in 2021.
Since appearing on the popular BBC show presented by John Torode and Gregg Wallace, Mike has been involved in several cooking enterprises including hosting private dining evenings and working on a proposal for a recipe book based on foraged ingredients.
Saturday's celebrity guests are set to be announced soon, as well as more news on the food, drink and street food traders involved with the festival. Family entertainment, cookery workshops and features new for 2022 will also be announced.
Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “We are really excited to be once again welcoming visitors back to Bishop Auckland Market Place for our usual spring date for Bishop Auckland Food Festival. With the first round of celebrity chefs announced, the countdown is officially on for this fantastic event where traders, visitors and chefs alike can come together and celebrate all things food.
“This festival is a key part of our events calendar and something we know hundreds of people look forward to every year. It’s popular events like this that support the county’s current bid to become UK City of Culture 2025, showing just how important food is to culture and demonstrating how diverse and vibrant our cultural programme is.”
Last week, County Durham finalised its bid for the UK City of Culture 2025, aiming to be the first county to do so, with an inflatable artwork which is touring destinations throughout the county. It is one of 8 places to have made the longlist for UK City of Culture, with the winning being announced in May.
Should County Durham's bid prove successful, it is hoped that 15m visitors will be attracted to the region, which could lead to a £700m spending boost.
