Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival

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155 artisan food & drink exhibitors

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Experience the festival

Watch the video to see why our festival makes Easter in Chester special.

15th - 17th April 2017 Open Saturday & Sunday 10am - 6pm | Monday 10am - 5pm

TASTE CHESHIRE AWARDS – WINNERS 2017

Over 300 of the industries finest representatives in Cheshire packed in to the Pavilion at Chester Racecourse to find out the winners of the 2017 Taste Cheshire Awards yesterday evening. Over 44,000 votes were cast by the public and the final four nominations in each category were mystery dined or shopped by industry experts to award Gold, Silver and Bronze in each of the categories. Taste Cheshire General Manager Lisa Edwards said “This was an incredible array of Cheshire talent and we are proud to be promoting the true “Taste of Cheshire ” through these industry important awards.”

Over 40,000 votes for Cheshire’s Finest

Organisers of the Taste Cheshire Awards have again reported a record number of votes cast in the Annual Hospitality Awards. This is the 18th year of these awards and previous winners represent the finest establishments anywhere in the UK. This year’s winners will be joining an illustrious role of honour when they are presented with their awards at the ceremony on the 19th April in the Pavilion at Chester Racecourse. Are your favourites Finalists?

VIP Tickets with Club Individual

This years Festival VIP tickets are something very special. Thanks to Club Individual you receive free membership with your Festival VIP tickets and £20 to spend in any of their restaurants. That's right - You buy your VIP Festival ticket that includes, A Glass of champagne, a £6 meal voucher to use at the festival, your own car park (subject to weather) your own entrance and your own VIP area to sit and enjoy the festival and we get you £20 to spend in any Club Individual Restaurant. Its an amazing deal for this years Festival.

Book your VIP weekend away

Have you booked your accommodation yet for this Easters trip to the food and drink festival? No? Why not make the most of this fabulous foodie package. It includes an overnight stay in a Classic or Executive room at Macdonald New Blossoms Hotel, Chester, full English breakfast the following morning, and a pair of VIP tickets to the Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle festival being held at the nearby Chester Racecourse over the Easter Weekend.

Bar Lounge VIP Area

This year there is yet another incredible addition to the Festival with the creation of the Bar Lounge VIP Area. This exclusive area, which is covered and has seating for up to 200 people, will feature live music during the day and is being exclusively catered for by Bar Lounge a 6 time winner of Best Bar in Chester will only be available to holders of VIP tickets and sponsors and their guests. To qualify to enter this area you simply need to buy one of our VIP tickets, which features a £6 food voucher and a complimentary glass of champagne plus VIP parking and your own entrance in to the event.

Taste Cheshire Young Chef Final

Last Thursday at West Cheshire College 8 of the best young chefs from the colleges of West Cheshire and South Cheshire fought out the semi-final of the Taste Cheshire Young Chef of the Year competition.

The task set by the judges, headed by Harthill Cookery School boss, Brian Mellor, Chester Festival Organiser, Briony Wilson and Taste Cheshire General Manager, Lisa Edwards, was to create two identical dishes in 45 minutes that would be worthy of a restaurant menu. The final will take place on Sunday 16th April where they will be judged by Masterchef star Gregg Wallace.

Samphire Junior Bake-Off

We are looking, in conjunction with Samphire Magazine, for the North West's most talented Young Baker. To enter our competition a contestant must be under the age of 12 on the 1st of January 2017 and able to work with cooking utensils and ovens under supervision. All our young chefs have to do is send us their recipe for a unique bake and a picture of their creation. Its that simple ad if you are successful you could end up cooking in our final at Chester Racecourse and being crowned champion by Superstar chef Jean Christophe Novelli.

Taste Cheshire Awards 2017

Voting commences Friday 13th January and has been extended to 8 weeks to find out who the winners will be of the 2017 Taste Cheshire Food and Drink Awards. The Chronicle, in conjunction with the Chester Food Drink & Lifestyle Festival will again be looking for you to nominate your favourite establishment from across the county, in the categories that are most applicable.

Last year the award voting exceeded 30,000 votes and organisers have extended the voting period by an extra two weeks to accommodate the many people who want to vote for their favourite venue. Taste Cheshire General Manager, Lisa Edwards said “These awards are a benchmark of quality right across Cheshire. They have been in existence for 18 years and the popularity amongst voters gets stronger and stronger.

Jean-Christophe Joins our Team

Outstanding Celebrity Chef and female heart throb, Jean Christophe Novelli will be joining us as our headline chef on Saturday the 15th of April. His passsion for food runs deep with his now eponymously named cooking school proving to be one of the most popular in the country. His flair, personality and engaging manner making him compulsory viewing either on TV or if you are lucky enough, in person.
Jean-Christophe Novelli is a 5 out of 5 AA Rosette and Michelin award winning chef, who is also dubbed “the nations favourite french chef”.

MasterChef returns to Chester

The Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival are proud to announce that they have secured MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace for the 2017 showcase event. Festival boss, Stephen Wundke said “We are simply delighted to welcome Gregg Wallace back in 2017. This year we will be running a new Junior Chef Competition with Gregg as our finalists judge an our Demo stage and I know that everyone enjoyed this last year and it will just get bigger and better as we try to find the Young Chef of the Festival.

Action Against Hunger

The Festival has proudly announced that this year our chosen charity is Action Against Hunger. We could think of no more appropriate charity for a Food and Drink festival to support. With our help they can continue to make a difference. They are a non political world charity that simply tries to feed starving people in trouble.
For almost 40 years, across nearly 50 countries, they have led the global fight against hunger. They save the lives of children and work with their communities before and after the disaster strikes. How could we turn our back?

Cookalong with Cheshire Cookery School

Ever wanted to fillet a fish like the pro's, create your own special sushi flavour or have a go at being Heston for a while? Well you can, sign up to come to our Cook-A-Long Master Class with the Cheshire Cookery School, which gives you the chance to get involved in cooking and to learn from the masters. Each session takes up to 12 people and gets you involved in the whole cooking process and its absolutely free.

Kids Cook for Free

For the last 6 years the Academy of Culinary Arts team have provided free cooking classes for the children who have come to the Chester Food Drink & Lifestyle Festival. James Holden, the Northern Director and his team of chefs last year taught over 900 children in three days in a series of sessions through out the day. These classes get very busy so book on the day early to ensure your child gets the opportunity.

The Best Easter Food Festival

With 30,000 people expected this Easter on the Chester Racecourse, right in the heart of the city, the Chester Food Drink & Lifestyle Festival is the biggest event of its type to take place anywhere in the UK this Easter. Over 150 exhibitors highlight the best the county, region and country has to offer and means that for your, the visitor it is simply a wonderful culinary experience.

Who is the best Young Chef?

MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace team up to find Chester's top young chef at this year’s Chester Food, Drink and Lifestyle Festival. The culinary skills of children around the region will be put to the test at this year’s Chester Food Drink and Lifestyle Festival and judged by none other than Masterchef’s Gregg Wallace in this years Young Chef Challenge.

Allington Hughes - Making Easter the Best

Chester and North Wales Solicitors, Allington Hughes confirmed that they are again to be the head line sponsor of the Chester Food Drink & Lifestyle Festival for 2017.
Managing Director Alison Stace said. “Our firm and the Festival have flourished over the last 4 years and we are delighted to again be working with Stephen and his team to bring about an ever expanding festival of interactive Easter family events. We enjoy being a part of this fabulous experience every Easter at Chester Racecourse.
Chester Food, Drink & Lifestyle Festival is a trading name of Chester Food & Drink Festival Limited.
Chester Food & Drink Festival Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales.
Registered number: 05364122.
Registered office: Churchill House, Queens Park Campus, Queens Park Rd, Chester, CH4 7AD.