A TOWN'S seventh food festival, which grew from a flash of inspiration over a cup of tea, was hailed a major success yesterday.

The annual Homegrown Food Festival, which aims to celebrate the best local food while promoting small and new producers, took over Applegarth, in the centre of Northallerton.

Last year’s event attracted more than 9,000 visitors and, thanks to the glorious weather, which arrived on cue, it looked like this year’s figure could be even greater.

The theme for the festival – the idea for which was hatched over a cup of tea in Bettys, in Northallerton High Street – was Healthy Body, Happy Mind, which aimed to combine the lure of great food with the promise of added health benefits, and it certainly delivered.

Expert chefs, including local award-winner Harrison Barraclough and Cyrus Kay, who appeared on Britain’s Best Home Cook, demonstrated vegetarian, vegan, immune-boosting and cholesterol-lowering foods.

There was also a range of complementary activities on offer, including hypnotherapy, reflexology, meditation and laughter yoga.

For those looking for something more traditional, the Romanby Women’s Institute (WI) and the Northallerton and District Scouts and Guides put on a hearty spread of homemade cakes in the Tea Tent, while the Tipple Tent, the music stage and the outdoor market also proved popular.

Sally Anderson, who chairs the organising committee, said: “Putting on the first festival was exciting and scary as we didn’t know who would come and whether we could afford it.

“It involved many creative discussions around kitchen tables. It was a leap of faith.

“The festival is about growing and getting people to value what they have locally and we’ve tried to keep that theme going.”

Of the committee’s decision to choose Romanby WI as its charity for 2018, Mrs Anderson said: “We felt that the WI fitted very well with the ethos of the festival.

“[They] supported our Bee Friendly-themed year in 2016 and are very active in the area.

“Also, nationally, they are supporting the campaign to end loneliness, which fits with our happy mind theme.”

Margaret Whitehead, president of Romanby WI, said the money would go towards ambitious plans to modernise the WI’s almost 80-year-old wooden hall in the village, just outside Northallerton, which is owned by the group and doubles as a community hall.

Featured music acts for 2018 were Alex Cromarty, The Laurelles, The Bluesics, George Boomsma, Totally Tropical, Stax, Mambo Jambo and Jon Sibley.

Funding was supplied by Simon Bailes Peugeot, Persimmon Homes and the Northallerton Business Improvement District (BID).