MASTERCHEFS from the Okehampton area are to join a stunning collection of top class professionals lined up for an exciting new food festival in Tavistock this summer.
The festival, to be held on July 31 and August 1, promises to be a mecca for lovers and suppliers of food and will showcase the incredible quality of produce available in the area.
Tina Bricknell-Webb, from the award-winning Percy?s Hotel and Restaurant at Virginstow, and Paul Pegram, from Betty Cottles near Okehampton, will join Peter Gorton, of the famous Horn of Plenty Restaurant, and TV chefs Chris and James Tanner, plus many other top professionals, in a succession of cookery demonstrations throughout the two days of the festival.
Tina said: ?To be asked to perform at the Tavistock Festival is a great honour. The town has long been home to many excellent specialist food producers and I am delighted to be associated with an event that recognises and promotes them.?
And Tina urged people to come along to the festival and see at first hand what could be done with the ?excellent? produce from the area.
Paul Pegram, well-known for his fusion-style cooking and a veteran of the ITV1 Roadshow, said: ?I was absolutely delighted to be invited down to the festival.
?It?s a marvellous opportunity to showcase the produce we have down here, which is some of the best in the world, and to be able to show what you can do with the food from this area is absolutely fantastic.?
Peter Gorton, who has thrown his full backing behind the festival, said he was ?absolutely delighted? top chefs like Tina and Paul were coming to the event.
?We want as many people as possible to come to the festival, have a good time and really appreciate the local produce that?s all round us,? he said.
Also lined up to demonstrate their skills are Tim Baily from the Bedford, Philip Leach from Combe House Hotel at Gittisham, and Paul da Costa-Greaves from the Galley Restaurant in Topsham. In addition to their culinary talents, they are enthusiastic personalities, guaranteed to inspire and entertain the crowds.
Peter said: ?We?re going to have a lot of fun, there?ll be lots of give-aways and tastings and at the end of every day, we?ll be giving away a really big hamper filled with products from the suppliers at the festival, which will be fantastic.?
A demonstration kitchen is being specially built for the event, which takes place in Tavistock Pannier Market.
Dozens of producers have already booked to come to the festival, bringing goods ranging from sausages to salmon, ostrich meat to ice cream and chillis to chocolates. There will also be wine tastings and a range of ciders and beers, fruit drinks and spring water.
The festival is being organised by Tavistock Business Association.