Celebrity chefs on the menu for Nottingham Food Festival

A host of top celebrity chefs are preparing to cook up a storm as part of the second annual Nottingham Food and Drink Festival.

The full line-up for the event, which takes place 23-26 September and includes a Celebrity Chef Theatre in Old Market Square, has been officially unveiled and includes well known names from Italy, India and the Caribbean.

The festival will be opened by Gino D’Acampo, the Italian chef and winner of the ITV 2009 series I’m A Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!, whilst the hugely popular TV personality and Ready Steady Cook presenter Ainsley Harriott will bring proceedings to a close on the Sunday.

Visitors and foodie fans will also be able to pick up tips from Caribbean soul food star Momma Cherri on the Friday, as well as Michelin-starred chefs and Great British Menu representatives Atul Kochhar on Saturday and Sat Bains on Thursday.

As well as the famous faces in the Celebrity Chef’s Theatre, the festival will also be dishing up live cook-offs, chef demonstrations, events in city centre venues and a host of delectable tasting areas courtesy of local restaurants, bars and eateries, as well as a special food and drink market featuring some of Nottingham’s finest local suppliers.

Other highlights include a Ready Steady Cook style challenge, where members of the armed forces will be partnered with chefs from venues in the city to take part in a series of cook-offs in aid of the Help for Heroes charity. Local sports stars will also be competing at similar events during the four day festival, with a third of the money raised from ticket sales for each of the challenges going to a charity of the winner’s choice.

The Nottingham Food and Drink Festival launched in 2009, with chefs such as James Martin and Simon Rimmer helping to attract around 18,000 visitors from across the country and it’s hoped that this year’s line-up will increase visitor numbers further.

The festival is organised by We Are Nottingham, which sees licensees in the city centre working together and contributing funds towards projects to give visitors the best possible experience when visiting the city.

As well as the Food and Drink Festival, the organisation has worked together on a number of other initiatives, including the taxi marshal scheme and the hugely successful street pastor project.

The festival is also funded by the Greater Nottingham Partnership and supported by Experience Nottinghamshire.

Sylvia Manser, chief executive of We Are Nottingham commented: “We’re delighted to bring the Food and Drink Festival back for a second year. The licensees have been working hard to ensure that 2010’s event will be even bigger and better.

“We have a fantastic mix of celebrity chefs and local talent who will be serving up some great cooking ideas for cookery aficionados, those looking to expand their culinary skills and families. Nottingham has one of the widest selections of cuisines available in the country, so it’s only right that we celebrate it and encourage people in the city to sample some of the food that’s available on their doorstep.”

Online booking for the Nottingham Food & Drink Festival opens on Monday 5th July at wearenottingham.co.uk/foodanddrink where you’ll also be able to check out the city’s restaurant and bar scene and find out more details about the full festival programme.