Food festival organisers hope to tempt more palates with earlier dates

More than 10,000 people from across the North of England went to the Food Lovers Festival in Malton in May.

Organisers have now announced the 2012 dates early in the hope of signing up even more producers and celebrity chefs.

This year’s event was the first time the festival had been staged over two days and it won glowing praise from food writer and broadcaster Tom Parker Bowles, who staged a cookery demonstration there.

The 2012 festival will be held on May 19 and 20 – when Malton’s Market Place will host hundreds of Yorkshire’s artisan food and drink producers.

The event will also include two cookery theatres featuring live demonstrations from some of the region’s top chefs and visiting celebrity cooks.

The festival has now become a major showcase for local fresh fruit and vegetables, meats, fish and gourmet speciality cheeses.

Festival spokeswoman Jeni Cropper said: “We want to build on the success and try and make sure that it becomes not only one of the leading food festivals in Yorkshire, but the whole country as well.”

The town’s Milton Rooms house the beer, wine and cider festival, which saw more than 3,000 pints sold over the two-day event this year.

The 2012 festival will include more tutored tastings and entertainment in the Milton Rooms.

A fuller list of those already involved has been posted online at www.welovemalton.co.uk.