PEOPLE are being invited to forage for wild snails – to be used in a French gastronomy demonstration at a food festival.

York Food and Drink Festival, which takes place between June 20 and June 29, will this year feature its first ever Gathering Gastropods event, in a nod to the Tour de France.

Diane Hammill, of Wild Harvest, will lead a special snail forage and the Yorkshire molluscs will be later prepared by chefs in one of the festival cookery demonstrations.

A daily demonstration centred on French gastronomy will also run alongside the festival’s regional market.

Stephanie Moon, from Rudding Park, will be amongst a number of high profile chefs from the region at the event. She will be cooking with foods picked wild along the route of the Tour de France.

Restaurants and cafes in the city are also being invited to add a French flavour to their menus.

A full schedule of cookery demos and other festival events will be available nearer the time on the festival website; www.yorkfoodfestival.co.uk