AN upcoming food festival has announced that two popular TV chefs will bring some international cuisine to the event.
This spring, celebrity chef Joe Hurd and current MasterChef champion Irini Tzortzoglou will bring flavours of the Mediterranean to the Bishop Auckland Food Festival, in County Durham.
Organiser Durham County Council has added to its line-up of famous faces appearing at the festival, which is set to return on Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19.
Chef Joe Hurd is from Yorkshire and has Italian heritage, and his interests in cookery have been inspired by these two locations.
He appears regularly on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, ITV’s Munch Box and at festivals across the UK.
The chef is keen to share his knowledge of traditional Italian recipes, ingredients and cooking techniques.
At the town food festival, he will be appearing on stage in the free cookery marquee across the weekend.
He said: “I’m really excited to be appearing at Bishop Auckland Food Festival for the first time this year.
“I’ll be cooking up some of my favourite Italian dishes, but I’ll be seeking out some of the wonderful local produce too. I can’t wait.”
MasterChef 2019 winner Irini Tzortzoglou was born in Crete but now lives in Cumbria, and during the show she served up a variety of traditional Greek dishes.
At the festival she will be demonstrating some of her favourite dishes in the cookery marquee, influenced by her latest accolade, that of a certified Olive Oil Sommelier.
She said: "I’m grateful for being asked to be part of this amazingly successful food festival.
“I’m really looking forward to sharing some of my food with the people of County Durham, meeting the other talented chefs and enjoying what Bishop Auckland Food Festival has to offer.”
While in Bishop Auckland, she will be reunited with one of the MasterChef judges, John Torode, who is headlining the food festival on the Saturday, and Great British Bake Off 2016 finalist Jane Beedle will also be delivering workshops at the event, with more celebrity chefs expected to be announced in coming weeks.
The festival will also see more than 150 traders from across the North-East serve up their produce, along with tasty street food, drinks, cakes and desserts.
The event attracted a record-breaking 29,000 people to Bishop Auckland Market Place last year, and in the process boosted the profits of traders and local businesses.
To find out more about the festival and to book tickets, visit www.bishopaucklandfoodfestival.co.uk
To stay up to date with the latest festival news follow bishfoodfest on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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