A North East chef who competed on a popular TV cooking show has completed the lineup for a County Durham food festival that will be taking place next weekend (August 5 and 6).

Jonny Stewart, known as Jonny Cooks, has completed the celeb chef lineup for the Seaham Food Festival that will take place on North Terrace by the sea from Saturday, August 5.

Jonny, who now lives in Hebburn, grew up in County Durham and is said to have visited the food festival before he became a contestant on MasterChef this year.

Read more: Around 120 traders confirmed for Seaham Food Festival 2023

Jonny said: “I started cooking during lockdown, I wanted to use my spare time and spare money to make a rubbish experience that little bit better. So, I decided to take cooking more seriously.

“I experimented with cooking and flavours like never before and unlocked a culinary world I would never have otherwise.”

“I then applied for MasterChef after starting my Instagram and used that to catapult me into the forefront of culinary expertise. I found the whole process just simply amazing, the people I met, the laughs I had and the new food experiences I had were second to none.”

The Northern Echo: Jonny Stewart, known as Jonny Cooks.

Jonny will now make his debut on the stage at the food festival, where he will be running his own stall and showing off his culinary skills to the people of Seaham.

He said: “I've sat where the public has and truly want to inspire the next lot of people to do it. Just like I was.

“Seaham is a special food festival. From being on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea, to trying all of the food available it really is a fantastic event that I am honoured to be a part of.”

Over 100 stalls will be open selling everything from scotch eggs, dirty fries, local fudge and cookie pies.

Alongside the familiar faces that regular festivalgoers will recognise, there’ll be more than 20 new traders selling everything from cocktails and gins to cheeses and chilli jams.

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Durham County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Partnerships, Cllr Elizabeth Scott, has expressed her delight at the news that Jonny will be attending the event.

She said: “We are excited to welcome Jonny back to Seaham Food Festival - this time not in the audience but on our cookery stage.

“Jonny will be joining an already star-studded line-up of chef and bakers who are going to impress and inspire audiences with their unique styles and flavours.

“There is just over a week to go so the countdown is truly on. We can’t wait!”