The Dales Festival of Food and Drink enjoys another successful year

The Dales Festival of Food and Drink is helping cement the areas’ draw as a hotspot for foodies. A dizzying array of produce was on show at this year’s festival in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, ranging from cheeses, oils, herbs and pastries, to whiskey liqueurs and sloe gins.

There were also cookery demonstrations, Morris dancing displays, talks on beekeeping and a performance of a play entitled 'Cheesed Off' specially written for the festival by David Nash and performed today (Sunday, May 5) by the Leyburn Amateur Dramatics Society. 

The final day of the three-day festival is due to take place tomorrow (Monday, May 6).

There will be cookery demonstrations by Jason Moore, group chef for Provenance Inns, who trained as a chef at Middlesbrough College in 1989 and went on to work for a string of leading restaurants, including London’s Hilton Hotel in Park Lane and helped open the Durham Ox at Crayke as head chef.

Craig Witty, from Daleside Brewery, near Harrogate, and Stephen Bulmer, from Swinton Park, near Masham, are also lined up to pass on their expertise to audiences.

Author author Gervase Phinn is also due to give a talk (Monday, May 6).

Running alongside the food and drink festival, was the Dales Festival of Art. As well as the chance to buy original artwork directly from artists, there were a range of workshops, where visitors could try their hand at making jewellery, candles, mosaics, beading and willow weaving.

Each day of the festival, ten original artworks specially created for the weekend were hidden in shops and cafes in Leyburn for visitors to find and keep.

In the run-up to the event, local residents have taken part in workshops with professional artists. Children made felted flowers under the guidance of artist Emma Fountain, while mosaics, Green Man masks and rag-rugs have been created in other sessions.

The festival’s administrator and spokesperson, Sandy Carter, said it had been very busy and had “gone very well”.