Chester Food & Drink Festival announces programme for 2007 and seeks votes for Celebrity Chefs
The dates for the 2007 Chester Food and Drink Festival have been announced and Festival chairman Stephen Wundke wants to know which celebrity chef the public most want to meet next Easter.
Chester Food and Drink Festival Taste Marquee is planned for April 7th to 9th 2007, Easter Saturday to Easter Monday. The Marquee will have villages for produce from Cheshire and North Wales within it, together with sections for national and international produce, reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of Cheshire. The Marquee is larger and surrounded by a small village of stalls and displays, with more than 100 confirmed exhibitors already, as many as those who attended last year.
A Food and Drink Fringe Festival will also take place around the City from April 6 to 15, 2007 with restaurants, bars and hotels all helping to make Chester the focus of food and drink within the UK, with theme nights, special family offers and accommodation promotions.
February will see the start of the Festival celebrations with preliminary judging to find the four finalists for the Young Chef of the Year ‘cook off’ that will take place during the Festival. Also the announcement of the schools competition for Cheshire Junior Chef of the Year.
March will see the staging of the annual Cheese Rolling competition on the 7th, with increased teams, street stalls and live music, leading up to April when the Festival begins. There will be a World Record Attempt on March 26 and the Ale Assize and Medieval Banquet on April 21.
Stephen Wundke, chairman of the Chester Food and Drink Festival, said: "We are a small city of just over 100,000 people and in the last 12 months I have seen a determined, combined effort to put Chester and Cheshire back in its rightful place as the ‘must see’ destination in the UK and as THE county of food and drink within the UK. It is important the people of Cheshire and the North West support the event. It will be very exciting with something for everyone."
He added; "Our celebrity chefs have proved to be an important draw for visitors to the Taste Marquee. With so many featured on TV and on bookstalls, we are keen to find out who everyone would like to see in Chester. Visitors to our web site can leave an email to tell us who they want to see here during Easter 2007."
For more information about other events happening over the Chester Food & Drink Festival please visit www.chesterfoodanddrink.com.
Chester’s Food and Drink Festival is organised on behalf of Chester City Council with support from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Visit Chester & Cheshire; the tourism board for Cheshire and Warrington, Cheshire County Council, Made in Cheshire and North West Fine Foods.
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Notes 51 per cent of visitors came from outside the In 2006, 16,000 people visited the Taste Marquee and £90,000 was spent there over the three days. - county, from a distance of more than 25 miles, making a total of 8,000 people brought into the City. - 78 per cent of people surveyed said the event was good or excellent. - 87 per cent of people surveyed said they were likely to return. - Nearly 100 producers and exhibitors were on show in the Taste Marquee, bringing their own skills and produce from Cheshire and around the world to be part of the Festival. - There were seminars and competitions in micro brewing, wines, sausages and cheeses and the opportunity to taste local paté, black pudding, bread, cereals, oils, pies, meat, fish, cheeses, chocolates, liqueurs and even a juice bar.
Evening events were varied and entertaining and will be expanded next year. The Champagne tasting evening will be held on Saturday April 7. The Cocktail event attracted over 100 attendees and is to be held next year on Sunday April 8 with competitors from bars in Chester and Manchester or Liverpool. On Monday April 9 plans are for a combination of music designed to stimulate the taste buds and the Gala Dinner and awards ceremony will ensure 250 people sample a gourmet menu sourced from leading producers in the North West. This is likely to be held on Tuesday April 10 2007.
Festival brochures will be available across the City from March. Phone 01244 351609 for more details. For further information on the region go to www.visitchester.com. More general information at www.chesterfoodanddrink.com
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