FOOD lovers are in for a treat at the weekend when thousands of them check out the Saltburn Food Festival.

Throughout Sunday (August 2) there will be around seventy of the best independent food producers from the North East and North Yorkshire, a kitchen academy for children, live music, world street food, live cookery demonstrations and outdoor dining and picnic areas.

Special guests, including TV chef Peter Sidwell, Richard Ingram, Gilly Robinson and BBC Tees foodie expert Catherine Hill, will be cooking up a treat at a live outdoor Cookery Theatre.

And, after teaming up with Coast and Country for the first time, a festival Art Street will see the town’s Re:Furnish Emporium leading the way with furniture upcycling workshops at their shop on Diamond Street.

For one of the stars of the event, Eaglescliffe born chef Gilly Robinson, it is a return to her roots.

Inspired by her grandmother’s cooking in a Billingham farmhouse kitchen, an amazing career has seen her cook all over the world for heads of state, world leaders, royalty at home & abroad, and even Mick Jagger and his bandmates in The Rolling Stones.

She’s also worked closely with TV chef Rosemary Shrager for several years, with the two still very much firm friends to this day, and is now Head Tutor at the popular Malton Cookery School in North Yorkshire.

“It’s been an incredible adventure,” she said. “A lifetime of amazing experiences that money just can’t buy.

“My grandmother was a real inspiration, and that’s where it all started for me I think. She was a farmer’s wife from Billingham, and she knew how to cook a meal.

“She also had the right ideas about food, about using good local produce, and my passion definitely came from her.

“I didn’t particularly enjoy school, but I loved cooking and was surprised to find I was actually good at something."

The free festival also includes a vibrant street market with around seventy of the best independent food producers from the North East and North Yorkshire, a children’s kitchen academy, live music, world street food, outdoor dining and picnic areas.

People will be able to park free of charge on both the former council coach park opposite Saltburn Golf Club and the nearby car park of Saltburn Learning Campus.

All-day vintage bus tickets will then cost £2 for adults and free for under 16s, with the bus hopping between the car parks and the Food Festival on Milton Street at regular intervals throughout the day.

The festival takes place between 10am-4pm on Milton Street.