A CELEBRATION of all things tasty will be on the menu this weekend when the popular Worcester Foodie Festival returns.
This free event organised by Worcester BID will feature around 60 stalls in High Street offering delicious food and drink from local businesses and selected specialist producers.
Food and drink matching sessions, cookery demonstrations and master class workshops by a variety of well-established chefs will also feature at the event from Friday to Sunday.
Michelin award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli will headline the Worcester Foodie Festival on Saturday.
The ‘nation’s favourite French chef’ will be running free cookery demonstrations on the main stage, followed by book signing sessions.
Local chefs from new and established Worcester city centre restaurants will also be on the line up showcasing their skills and summer menus at the Foodie Festival stages.
With free face painting, exciting food experiments and dedicated kids’ cookery workshops, youngsters will also enjoy their visit to the Worcester Foodie Festival.
Live music from local artists, street entertainment, competitions, special offers and in store activities will make sure that there is something for all the family during the festival.
Nadja von Dahlen-Andrews, Worcester BID Marketing and Events Manager, said “The Worcester Foodie Festival is a great opportunity for people to discover and experience our fantastic city centre food and drink outlets, whether it’s by visiting the street stalls or venturing into local businesses for a tasty treat.
“Who doesn’t want to leave the cooking and washing up to someone else – and get the chance to see famous chefs like Jean-Christophe Novelli sharing his cookery secrets with us?.”
The festival takes place in the heart of the city centre from 10am to 5.30pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.
Visit www.worcesterfoodiefestival.com or follow @WorcFoodieFest on Twitter for more information.
• AHEAD of the festival, Jean Christophe took time out of his preparations for a question and answer session.
What do you think of the Festival; have you presented there before?
I have been lucky enough to present at Worcester before and am delighted to be attending again this year. It’s a great event and I love how they have activities for everyone, such a family friendly festival. I really enjoy to interacting with the local exhibitors.
What is your favourite dish and what are you working on?
My favourite dish is still my Mum’s Stuffed Baked Tomatoes. At the moment I am working on creating some dishes for my new restaurant “Jean-Christophe Novelli at City Quays” that will be opening in the Marriott AC in Belfast in Spring 2018 and also for Don Giovani’s – one of Manchester’s most romantic Italian restaurants.
What has been your biggest achievement?
My biggest achievement as a chef is to retain the passion and excitement I have for cooking.
When did you realise you wanted to become a chef?
By the early age of 8, watching my Mum cook every day! And this was confirmed at the age of 14 when I started to work as a baker.
Tell us about your new book “Simply Novelli”. Any plans to write any more books?
“Simply Novelli” is full of exciting, simple and nutritious recipes that are just perfect for families.
With regards more books, I am working on something but I’ve been tied up for a while so just getting back on the boil with this.
What are your plans for the future?
Well in-between Festivals and courses at my cookery school, I will be hosting some events at Don Giovani’s in Manchester and also working very closely with Marriot Hotels, Interstate and the Belfast Harbour Commissioners on the planning of my new restaurant in Belfast. In addition, I also want to expand the space at my cookery school so I can host larger corporate groups at my home.
What’s your favourite restaurant in the world?
There are so many good restaurants it would not be fair to choose but as we are talking about Worcester I must say that I certainly am a huge Fan of Feli’s (formally known as Fusion) in Worcester. I have worked alongside Felice the owner for many years and he is an extremely talented Chef .
