Food classes on the menu for festival

Visitors to this year’s food festival in Bishop Auckland are being given the chance to learn pasta making and how to chop vegetables like a pro. The workshops are part of a programme of events for children and adults.

Cookery workshops for kids will be lead by Viki Garbett, owner of Twiddle Food, who grew up in Hungary and likes to add a Hungarian twist to her recipes. The sessions are suitable for five to 12-year-olds and will take place on both days of the festival at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. Tickets for three different sessions on each day must be booked online in advance and are priced at £4 per child.

A series of ‘chef’s knife skills’ workshops will cover the professional way to dice, chop and prepare root vegetables. For the over-16’s these ‘have a go’ workshops will be hosted by experienced Bishop Auckland College chef lecturers, Richard Vart and Elizabeth MacIntyre.

Aspiring bakers will be able to take part in ‘flower-pot cupcake’ and ‘illusion cake making’ workshops. Tickets for the workshops are priced at £5 per person and must be booked in advance.

Bishop Auckland Food Festival returns to the town on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd April. The event, which is organised by Durham County Council, saw a record 30,000 visitors last year.

More celebrity chefs announced for festival

More well-known faces have been added to the entertainment bill for the festival. MasterChef 2018 winner Kenny Tutt joins the Sunday line-up with Bake Off runner-up Sandro Farmhouse also appearing on stage.

Janusz Domagala, aka “Janusz”, a contestant on the Great British Bake Off in 2022, will appear on Saturday and Sunday.

Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “One of the many great things about the festival is that it provides opportunities like this for people to take part in workshops, learn new skills, and to engage with cooking in new and exciting ways.

“That’s alongside the amazing list of celebrity chefs we’ve got at the festival this year. For anyone who’s missed that we’ve got Phil Vickery, Rachel Allen, Kenny Tutt and Bake Off stars Sandro Farmhouse and Janusz Domagala all joining us. If that wasn’t enough, we’ll also have stalls from the region’s best food and drink producers, serving everything from burgers and brownies to churros and cheese, with vegan and gluten-free options too. It won’t be long before we announce full details of who’ll be there and what the entertainment programme has in store for us.

“All the ingredients are coming together very nicely and festival weekend is shaping up to be a real treat for everybody.”

The festival is supported by Bishop Auckland Town Council and Durham County Council’s Towns & Villages programme.