This Morning chef Phil Vickery is one of the first chefs to be announced for the 2023 Bishop Auckland Food Festival.
The festival pulled in a record 30,000 visitors last year and returns to County Durham on Saturday and Sunday April 22 and 23. With a line up of celebrity chefs that has included John Torode, Crystelle Pereira, and local favourite Mike Bartley giving cooking demonstrations, the festival also includes traders from across North East selling artisanal food.
The first chef announced for the 2023 festival is Phil Vickery, who has been part of the ITV This Morning family for more than two decades. He's also appeared on Ready Steady Cook, Proof of the Pudding, Phil Vickery's Pudding Club and Save Money: Good Diet; while he has worked in Michelin Star restaurants across the UK.
Read more: Durham restaurant named a Michelin favourite within four months of opening
Phil will share Saturday's stage with cookery writer, TV chef and teacher at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, Rachel Allen. Over the last two decades, Rachel's books have sold more than one million copies worldwide and she currently writes a food column for The Sunday Independent, alongside hosting The Restaurant for RTE alongside Marco-Pierre White.
The final celebrity chef announced for Saturday is Great British Bake Off semi-finalist Janusz Domagala. Keen LGBT+ activist Janusz was named one of Heat Magazine's 2022 Stars of the Year and has appeared on The Last Leg and CBBC's Saturday Mashup.
All three chefs will be cooking up live demonstrations to share with guests throughout Saturday April 22. They'll be joined by Eat Well For Less? presenter Chris Bavin, who returns as host.
Coun Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council's Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: "The Bishop Auckland Food Festival is a real highlight of our annual events calendar. Last year was the biggest yet, with glorious weather helping us attract around 30,000 visitors across the weekend.
"That’s a record high and it shows there’s clearly a huge appetite for it! To pull in those kinds of numbers is a massive boost for the town.
"Of course, the presence of the celebrity chefs is always a big draw and today’s announcement confirming the first three lined up for this year means the countdown to the weekend of 22 and 23 April is well and truly under way. There are more big names still to come but it’s not all about the big names – we’ve got all kinds of wonderful food traders, workshops and entertainment up our sleeves too. It’s definitely a case of ‘watch this space’."
Sunday's celebrity chefs are set to be announced very soon, along with details of food traders, family entertainment and cookery workshops. For more information on the Bishop Auckland Food Festival, visit its website.
Have you been to the Bishop Auckland Food Festival? Let us know!
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