Line-up of top chefs for Malton Food Lovers’ Festival

As one of the largest free food festivals in the country, with over 120 stalls, this year’s Festival is promising a variety of culinary talent taking to the demonstration kitchen across the three days of the Festival.

Mark Brayshaw, head of Visit Malton CIC which organises the festival, said: “One aspect of Malton Food Lovers Festival of which we are exceptionally proud is the commitment to local suppliers and providers – the vast majority of the producers showcasing their work here is made in North Yorkshire.

"We have some of the finest produce in the country, and when you combine this incredibly tasty food with remarkably creative chefs, you have a recipe that is impossible to beat.

“We’ve brought together chefs from some of the top restaurants across the region, as well as some well-known faces from TV, to show how you can create your own taste of Yorkshire heaven in your own kitchen!”

Restaurants represented include York's Legacy at The Grand, The Old Deanery, and The Minster Refectory along with The Feversham Arms in Helmsley and Malton’s own Forty-Six.

The Main Stage in the Market Place is hosted by Gilly Robinson, who runs The Cook’s Place in Malton, a cookery school located between Market Street and Talbot Yard.

Great British Bake Off 2019 winner, David Atherton, will be returning to the Festival following his popular appearance last year, hosting a demonstration on Sunday, May 26 at 12 noon. Mollie Payne, who will be familiar to fans of Masterchef The Professionals, will also be cooking up a storm at 2pm on Sunday – demonstrating why she is one of the most in-demand private chefs in Yorkshire.

The full timetable for the demonstrations is as follows:

Saturday, May 25

10am Ollie Farrar, Forty-Six, Malton

11am Michael Burgoyne, Orchard Lodge

12noon Georgie Swinson and Rob Porter, Yorkshire Baker

1pm Adam Jackson, Head Chef at The Old Deanery, Ripon

1.30pm Alex Danson, Derventio Wines

2pm Kevin Bonello & Ahmed Abdalla, Legacy at The Grand York

3.00pm Gilly Robinson, The Cook's Place

Sunday, May 26

10am Gilly Robinson, The Cook's Place

11am Jon Appleby, The Feversham Arms, Helmsley

12 noon David Atherton, GBBO winner and author

1.00pm Dan Graham, Private Chef “At The Dinner Party”

1.30pm Alex Edwards, York Wines

2pm Mollie Payne, Masterchef Professionals 2023 by Molly

3pm Beth Christlow, The Nut & Nettle Bridlington

Monday, May 27

11am Radek Bak, The Corner Grill House York

12 noon TBC

1pm Josh Brimmell, York Minster Refectory

2pm Devin Jones, Head Pastry Chef at The Grand, York

3pm Georgie Swinson and Rob Porter, Yorkshire Baker

Mark said: “One of the fantastic things about these demonstrations is that many of the ingredients will be available from our stall holders and the local butchers, fishmongers, delicatessens and green grocers at the Festival stalls and shops in Malton. Visitors can watch delicious dishes being made, and then recreate them for themselves the very same day at home."

Malton Spring Food Lovers Festival runs from Saturday 25 to Monday 27 May across the town centre, and is free to visit.

Alongside the food, live music will help create a real festival atmosphere, and there will be book signings at Kemps Book Shop, located almost opposite the main stage in the Market Place. Kemps will also be hosting free themed shows for children at 11am and 2pm each day – a chocolate themed adventure led by Wilhelmina Wonka of Magical Quests North!

A vintage funfair will take over Shambles Car Park, and Creative Chaos by Environmental Arts is planning to make a huge community canvas – paints and boiler suits provided.

Malton Sculpture Trail will also form part of the Festival, with over 20 pieces of art spread across the town centre. Maps are available to direct people to sculpted animals, birds and abstract designs – these can be downloaded from the Malton Sculpture Trail website or can be picked up from the Visit Malton Info Point at the festival.

For more information, please visit https://www.visitmalton.com/food-festival-yorkshire