ORGANISERS of a free food and live music event in North Yorkshire have announced this year’s line-up of leading chefs.

Northallerton’s Homegrown Food Festival is taking place on Sunday, June 24 this year at the Applegarth in the town and has the theme of Healthy Body, Happy Mind.

The chefs this year include Harrison Barraclough, the executive chef at the Plum and Partridge in Husthwaite who was one of the youngest chefs in the UK to win an AA rosette at the age of just 19 and Steph Moon, chef consultant at Rudding Park whose television appearances include BBC 2’s Great British Menu and BBC 1’s Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is.

Other chefs include Cyrus Kuy, a 27-year-old wine consultant and entrepreneur from York who featured on BBC 1’S Britain’s Best Home Cook and Rob Green, an authority on seafood and UK ambassador for Sea-fish. He was also a winning contestant on ITV’s Britain’s Best Dish.

This year’s cookery demonstrations will look at healthy themes including vegan, immune-boosting and cholesterol-lowering foods and will take place outdoors on a new Festival Street.

Health and well-being will be the key focus with laughter yoga sessions, natural remedy experts and mindful gardening.

Thanks to the success of last year’s first ‘Tea Tent’, it’ll return for the second year hosted by Northallerton and District Scouts and Guides and Romanby WI, providing a range of teas and homemade cakes.

Other new additions include the ‘Tipi of Tranquillity’ with taster sessions throughout the day promoting good health and mental wellbeing, art, yoga, laughter and reflexology.

Children’s craft activities will have the theme of encouraging young people to think about what is good for the body and mind, such as children’s yoga, theatre and a giant operation game which will all be coordinated by Connecting Youth Culture, a Northallerton-based charity.

Last year’s Homegrown Food Festival was the most successful to date with over 9,000 visitors from across the North East and North Yorkshire enjoying local bands, top chefs and a range of locally produced food and drinks.

The aim of the Homegrown Food Festival is to showcase local producers, international street food and local musicians and offer ideas for growing food at home. The event is organised by a small committee of volunteers who have worked over the last seven years to encourage the community to embrace locally-sourced food and drink and support small producers.

The committee relies on funding from a number of sponsors including Simon Bailes Peugeot, Persimmon Homes and the Northallerton Business Improvement District.

Over 100 local producers will be taking part in this year’s event.

Other activities at the free event will include the popular Tipple Tent serving locally-brewed beers, spirits and wines, a Kids’ Kitchen with fun, interactive cookery workshops for children, one stage of live, local music and the Grow Zone where the ‘Inspiration Shed’ will host local enthusiasts to encourage people to grow their own fruit, vegetables and herbs.

In addition, this year The Forum in Northallerton will host George Egg, the DIY Chef on Friday, June 22, to tie in with the Homegrown Food Festival.

George has had sell-out shows at Edinburgh Fringe and Brighton Fringe and will perform his comedy routine which features stand-up comedy and live cooking,

Sally Anderson, one of the organisers of the Homegrown Food Festival, said: “The calibre of chefs this year is outstanding. We’re thrilled to have such a varied mix of talent- the crowds are in for a real treat. We’re also really pleased that The Forum is welcoming George Egg as a warm-up to our festival weekend- it adds a real community feel.

“It’s very important that the Festival continues to be a truly community event. We chose the WI for this year’s charity because their team has helped us out for many years and they’re now raising funds to refurbish their hall and create a community kitchen garden.”

Group treasurer, Margaret Whitehead from Romanby WI said: “Featuring as the charity of the year at the Homegrown Food Festival is a great honour.

"The money raised by us at the event will help us to achieve our vision for the WI hall. We’ll be working with the local scouts in the Tea Tent, as well as giving out information about the WI at a local level and details of our national Link Together campaign to end loneliness.”