A FOOD-lovers festival has established itself as one of the North’s biggest food attractions with record visitor numbers this weekend.

The Malton Food Lovers Festival attracted big-name food and music stars, including Levi Roots, who performed at the festival’s first Saturday night party with his 12-piece band; and food critic Prue Leith, who led culinary masterclasses.

Levi Roots said: “I love being back in Yorkshire celebrating food and music. I was here in the early stages of Reggae Reggae Sauce and I'm honoured to return as part of a line up of some of our best food talent in the UK.

“The vibe in Malton is electric and among market stalls and music, it's full of smiling faces.”

Ms Leith also introduced a panel of food experts including Valentine Warner, Stephanie Moon and Levi Roots at the festival's first NFU Kitchen Question Time.

She said: "What is happening in Malton should be a model for every small market town in England. “The Malton Food Lovers Festival is a focus for all the north's artisans and a great celebration of a reviving market town."

Rebecca Benn, owner of The Really Nice Food Company was exhibiting for the first time this year.

She said: “Having been to the Malton Food Lovers Festival as a visitor I knew that this would be the ideal place to launch my new branding and summer products.

“As my business is relatively new to gain this amount of exposure with Malton’s food loving visitors and fellow traders was amazing.

“I even got a chance to see some of my food heroes at the events over the weekend and pick up some treats for the rest of the bank holiday.”