Now the York Food Festival is announcing its forthcoming 26th anniversary, promising another 10-day celebration of local food and drink, culture and community across the city centre.

The festival is due to take place between Friday September 22 and Sunday October 1, with more than 100 market stalls and activities including chef demonstrations, free cookery workshops, live music, taste trails and a new Cookie Tour across the 10 days.

Having grown from humble beginnings in 1997, York Food Festival is now hugely popular with locals and visitors alike and expects to attract over 400,000 people, as well as 1,200 school children with their educational Schools Programme.

Building on York’s history as a chocolate city and historic market, the festival’s diverse programme has been designed to educate, inspire and bring people together to share in the city’s vibrant culinary culture whilst showcasing the talent of local businesses and celebrating Yorkshire food and drink at its core.

Festival Director Michael Hjort captures the festival's ethos: "We want to run an event that celebrates local talent and is run by and for the York community. The world is full of Food Festivals these days; what's different about York is that it's not a couple of guys off TV and a market brought in from anywhere."

Highlights of the festival will include free hands-on cookery workshops hosted by some of the region’s top chefs to educate and inspire a passion for homemade and locally sourced cuisine, along with city-wide tastings and food trails to uncover the city’s hidden culinary gems.

York Food Festival also will be marking the 70th Anniversary of the twinning between the cities of York and Dijon with exciting demonstrations and sampling of regional dishes from Burgundy as well as holding a heartwarming event encouraging cultural exchange and inclusivity on August 27 for Refugee Day.

In addition to the diverse program of informal food and drink tastings in the St Sampson Square demonstration area and St Crux Hall featuring Brew York, Ippuku Tea, Love Cheese, York Gin and others, the Yorkshire Mark will host at substantial stand right outside at St Crux Hall, with locally produced food and drink from a range of independent Yorkshire makers.

For the first time the Live for St. Leonards Music Event will have two stages – the main stage in the Entertainment Marquee in Parliament Street and a new acoustic stage in the York Gin enclosure on St Sampson's Square, promising an unforgettable free musical extravaganza featuring local bands and singer-songwriters.

York Food Festival is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that runs events throughout the year. Any money generated from stand fees and ticket sales goes back into the festival to improve it year after year.

Book tickets at: https://www.yorkfoodfestival.com/programme/.

How York Food Festival went from a modest event back in 1997 to attracting 400,000 visitors