Crowds turn out for the launch of Morpeth’s new Market

Hundreds of people turned out to see the brand new market being launched in Morpeth at the weekend along with the town’s first ever Food and Drink Festival.

Star of the BBC’s Apprentice, Adam Corbally, joined traders and civic dignitaries at the event which was held in Morpeth town centre on Saturday October 5th.

After an official civic launch of the new market cooking demonstrations, competitions and games were held throughout the day with both the Town Hall Food and Drink Festival and the new stalls on the market place pulling in the crowds throughout the day.
Declaring the new market open, the Mayor of Morpeth Cllr Joan Tebbutt read from the original market charter which was granted to Roger de Merley in 1199 for the cost of thirteen pounds, six shillings and eight pence – allowing the town to hold a weekly market and an annual fair.

Cllr Tebbutt added: “There has been a market held on this spot for all those years and it’s fantastic to see the new market here today.

“We’ve had a number of changes over the years in the town, the Sanderson Arcade development, the brand new supermarket on the edge of the town centre – rather than on the edge of the town itself. And now this fantastic new market, which we really hope will bring many more people into the town and help to keep the town centre viable.”

The team at Sanderson Arcade, Morpeth’s award winning shopping centre, are working with Morpeth Town Team, Northumberland County Council and Morpeth Town Council on the new project with the aim of putting the weekly Wednesday Market and monthly Farmers’ Market on the map.

New stalls and branding as well as anchor points and a local marketing campaign have been introduced as part of the unique public-private partnership initiative, Saturday’s Farmer’s Market and Food Festival was the first opportunity to see the new stalls and layout.

Adam, who started his working life as a market trader kicked off the cooking demonstrations after the official opening and hosted the demonstration kitchen on the market place throughout the day as local chefs showcased some of their own favourite dishes.

He said: “”It really is a breath of fresh air to see an initiative like this and to see everyone working together and realising that High Street shopping isn’t just about one thing or the other, it’s about the whole town coming together and the community working together – making it an ideal place to shop. It’s great to be part of a project like this and fantastic to see what has been achieved here in Morpeth.”

Centre Manager at Sanderson Arcade Medi Parry said the feedback from Saturday’s market has been really positive – the new stalls will next be used on the Wednesday weekly market.

She added: “Everyone has really worked together to make this a fantastic celebration of what can be achieved, the town was really buzzing on Saturday.

“We are delighted to be involved with the new market in Morpeth and are confident it will continue to grow and thrive, we are already planning on making the Food and Drink Festival an annual event in the town.”
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Bolton Market hits the mark for festival chefs

Proud northerner Paul Hollywood, co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off, likened it to the famous Borough Market in London and said he would definitely be back to pay the Ashburner Street site a visit in the future.

He said: “I am very impressed by Bolton Market. It’s important to me to be able to source fresh, local ingredients for my dishes and here I can find excellent quality fish, fruit and vegetables, which is very satisfying. The market rates among the best and its at least as good as, if not better, than the famous Borough market in London.”

Paul was joined at the food and drink festival by fellow presenter Mary Berry, and together they demonstrated their expert baking skills at three sold-out shows in Victoria Square.

Many thousands of people visited the festival over the four days (Aug 23-26) of the bank holiday weekend. They were able to sample culinary delights from more than 80 stalls; watch celebrity and regional chefs in a series of demonstrations; enjoy the activities at the new children’s food and fun emporium and sit back and relax while being entertained by live bands and street performers, and the sunny weather was a bonus.

Four free cookery demonstrations were staged at Bolton Market. Asian chef Aazam Ahmad provided an entertaining display on Friday morning cooking a salmon curry and on Saturday Sean Wilson from Channel 5’s Great Northern Cookbook performed twice and Harry Yeung from

Manchester’s Yang Sing restaurant provided a Cantonese twist at his lunchtime show.
Chef Sean Wilson, ex-Corrie star, made Lancashire cheese and onion pie, oven bottom muffins and Eccles Cakes. He said: “The Bolton Food Festival is a great northern festival for great northern people.”

Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines launched the festival on Friday 23 and provided two enthralling cookery demonstrations for free in the Festival Marquee and then in the Market Place Shopping Centre.

Michael Caines said: “It is a pleasure and privilege to be back at this event for the third time. Over the last few years I have seen the Bolton Food and Drink festival grow and develop from a local to a national event, with new additions each year.

The festival shows that there is a real appetite for local and regional food and it is crucial in bringing the community together and also boosting the local economy. The festival is a credit to Bolton and it is an honour to be asked to launch it again this year.”

In addition to the free cookery demonstrations in Bolton Market, many more regional chefs performed in the Market Place Shopping Centre, including Andrew Nutter, Anjali Pathak, and Chris Yates.

Local chef Anjali Pathak who was a big hit in the Market Place demonstration kitchen said: “This is my fifth year at the Bolton Food & Drink Festival and I am delighted to be back , as its an opportunity to come back to my home town . The festival is growing year on year and provides a showcase for the market, local producers and local chefs.”

Anjali made caramelised lamb masala with spiced flatbreads and for dessert she made sticky peaches with vanilla and lime cream.

Two new features this year proved to be big hits – the children’s food and fun emporium at Crompton Place which provided a packed programme of entertainment, games and hands on food activities to entertain youngsters and live performances by local bands in the Beer Keller and the KRO Bar where Shandy South, the Dolly Birds and Our Fold were just a few of the bands who struck a chord with customers.

Free shows by performers including the Ski Band and the Bourbon Street Roof Raisers also entertained the crowds.

Coach parties came from the North East, Hull, Huddersfield, Wakefield, North Wales, Lancashire and Warrington. Teresa Wade from Hull said: “We came to the festival last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so came back again. We want to come again next year and will be making it a regular fixture in our calendars.”

Alwyn Johnston, visiting the festival from Macclesfield Cheshire for the first time this year said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the day – the stalls, the demonstrations and tasting all the food. And when we got to the market we couldn’t believe the quality and range of fruit and veg at such low prices. Everything’s been fabulous and I can’t wait to bring my friends next year”

Visitors even came from as far away as Australia. Tina and Dennis from Victoria in Australia said: “We are doing a three-week tour of the UK. We researched what was on and we saw the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and just had to come. It is excellent, we are enjoying it very much and the free parking is a bonus!”

Organisers have calculated that visitor figures reached nearly 130,000 over the four days, a big increase on last year’s figure of 102,000. Councillor Cliff Morris, Leader of Bolton Council said: “We are delighted with the visitor figures at this year’s Festival, which show it has been a massive success.
We have had great feedback from all the chefs who provided cooking demonstrations and the feedback from traders was really positive, with many of them having to call for extra stock as their stalls were so popular!

“Visitors to the Festival came from as far away as Hull, the North East, Essex and even Australia and all seemed to enjoy their visit, which has a really positive impact on the town. The children’s emporium, which was new this year was also really popular, with queues for all the activities. We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the festival, from the chefs to the traders and also all the visitors who came and made it an amazing success.”

To keep up to date with the latest festival news, log on to the website http://www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com, visit Facebook and search for Bolton Food and Drink Festival or search for #Boltonfoodfest on Twitter.

Bolton Food festival line-up revealed

Britain’s favourite baking duo, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, are to return to the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.
The Great British Bake Off judges are back by popular demand after selling out their baking demonstrations and proving a hit at last year’s festival. This year’s four-day foodie spectacular will take place once again over the August Bank Holiday weekend, from Friday, August 23 to Monday, August 26.

Mary and Paul will perform their demos together on Saturday, August 24 in a dedicated marquee on Victoria Square. Mary said: “I received such a warm welcome from the people of Bolton last year that I was only too happy to return to the food and drink festival in August. “Everyone was so friendly and it was heartening to see so much interest in the art of baking.” Paul added: “I was very impressed with Bolton and in particular their award-winning market. “There was an abundance of fresh, local produce on offer and I am thrilled to be making a return visit. I look forward to seeing people at our demos.”

The festival, which attracted more than 102,000 visitors last year, will be launched by the two-Michelin starred chef Michael Caines on the Friday, and fellow festival favourite James Martin will take centre stage on Bank Holiday Monday, August 26. Sunday’s star attraction will be top Italian chef and restaurateur, Aldo Zilli. Specialising in Italian and vegetarian cuisine, Aldo founded his own chain of restaurants, has written more than 10 books and has appeared on numerous television shows. He has recently launched a new PR and marketing company, Zilli Media, and is currently Chef Consiliere to the award-winning San Carlo group, which includes restaurants in Manchester and London. Aldo said: “I’m really looking forward to coming to the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and cooking up some delicious Italian food. I’m passionate about fresh and local produce, so I can’t wait to see what Bolton has to offer.”

The Leader of Bolton Council, Councillor Cliff Morris, said: “There is no doubt that the Bolton Food and Drink Festival is firmly on the map as one of the best events of this type, and it just gets better and better each year.

“Last year’s festival beat all previous records in terms of visitor numbers and we are determined to make this year’s event one to remember. The fabulous Michael Caines will launch the festival once again and we have firm favourite James Martin entertaining the crowds on Monday. “We were impressed with the impact Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry made on the audiences, so we were delighted they agreed to return again this year. And with the Italian flair of Aldo Zilli, the festival is bound to appeal to all tastes.”
More detailed information about the celebrity chef demos will be released soon and tickets will go on sale in May.

To keep up to date with the latest festival news, log on to the website http://www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com, visit Facebook and search for Bolton Food and Drink Festival or search for #boltonfoodfest on Twitter.

Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2013 is organised by Bolton Council and sponsored by Bolton College, Bluemantle, Crompton Place, The Market Place Shopping Centre and Stateside Foods.

Their partners this year are The Octagon Theatre, Kro Bar, the Marriott Worsley Park Hotel, Bolton Market, Harvey Nichols and The Albert Halls.

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Stamford Christmas Festival 2011

Plans for Stamford Christmas Festival 2011 are well under way, with a large number of traders and exhibitors already booked up to join us to sell their wares and take full advantage of the 15,000 footfall this events brings the town. This amazing community event offers a fun filled and action packed day for the whole community and its visitors to enjoy, providing opportunities for shopping from 150 traders and an immense entertainment line up.

Want a Trade Stall at Stamford Christmas Festival this year? … Don’t know how to get your booking pack? … Please go to http://www.visitstamford.com/x mas/ to download your booking pack and all the information required about this event. You don’t want to miss out, so book early!

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Bingham trader retires

Jim Tennant – AKA ‘J Teas’ is hanging up his pinny after 24 years of running the catering van on Bingham Market. Before his Market days, Jim was in the Royal Navy for nine years in the sixties, serving on HMS Zulu and aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. During this time Jim served meals for a crew of 1,000 and was promoted to Petty Officer in Catering. He is an active member of the Wallenfels Twinning Association and helps with fund raising, which includes cooking on their Christmas Market, hosting beer festivals in Germany and Bingham. He also does the catering (and a bit of singing) when local schools Toothill and Dayncourt pupils go on their regular camping trips to Wallenfels. Everyone at Bingham Market wish both Jim and his wife Jan a well-earned rest in their retirement.

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Earlstown Market Family Fun Day

Earlestown Market will be showcasing quality local and regional produce at this year’s Family Fun Day. Due to the success of last year’s event, Earlestown Market will be holding a family focussed event on Friday 3rd June between 11.00am and 3.00pm. A town crier will open proceedings followed by fun filled activities to entertain the whole family. Wish FM will be broadcasting live from the event featuring a competition to win a £50 voucher to spend at the Market.
Steve Littler, Estates Manager for St.Helens Council said, “The range and selection of local and regional produce available at the Market is constantly growing with traders providing quality goods at exceptionally low prices. Last year’s event was a huge success and is back by popular demand.”
For more information call 01744 677155 or visit
www.sthelens.gov.uk/markets

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Countdown starts to Bolton’s Food Festival

Countdown starts to Bolton’s Food Festival
Business leaders and tourism heads gathered last month for the regional launch of Bolton’s sixth Food and Drink Festival.The Festival, which is planned to be even bigger and better than previous years, takes place from August 26th to 29th and is fast gaining a reputation as the foodie event to visit in the North West.
Two Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines will be opening this year’s show with a cookery demonstration on the Friday.
He said: “Food festivals are really important and a great way to draw people into the region. This Festival is the celebration of everything that is great about Bolton. Food culture is as important as music and sporting culture.”

Michael joins a mouth-watering line-up of celebrity chefs who regard Bolton’s Festival as one of the best in the country. Last year’s stars, Italian chef Gino D’Acampo, will return along with Hairy Bikers culinary duo, Si King and Dave Myers and Yorkshire chef, James Martin.
Paul Simpson, Managing Director of Visit Manchester, the Greater Manchester Tourism Board said, “Bolton identified that there was a gap in the market for a food event in August and it’s a great time to have it. It’s a complimentary offer to the Pride festival, and visitors can easily attend the event as Bolton’s only 15 minutes away on the train. Greater Manchester’s tourism industry brings in millions of visitors a year and we know events and festivals like this bring in visitors. New for this year is a cookery theatre for local and regional chefs in the Market Place Shopping Centre and chefs will also cook in the Bolton Market’s kitchen.
Local, regional, and specialist traders will entice shoppers with a range of food, drinks and craft products at the speciality Market.

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New Markets for Evesham

New Markets for Evesham
Dates have been announced for a series of Sunday Street Market Events, which are to take place in Evesham over the coming months.
The Markets include a Balloon and Classic Car Festival, a National Morris Weekend and an Angling Festival and will compliment the Saturday Markets that take place in High Street, Bridge Street and the Market Square.
All types of traders (except catering) are required and anyone interested should contact Joseph Jones on 07866 914735 for further information.

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