NATIONAL treasure, and queen of the kitchen, Mary Berry, will be demonstrating her culinary skills at this summer’s Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival held in Skipton.

The fourth annual festival will be held over two days in July at Funkirk Farm, near Broughton, and in addition to Mary Berry will also feature celebrity chefs, the Hairy Bikers, David Myers and Simon King; Lisa Faulkner, and Brian Turner.

The Devonshire Arms Hotel and Spa at Bolton Abbey, current holder of Welcome to Yorkshire’s White Rose award for large hotel of the year, will be staging demonstrations with head chef, Paul Leonard, while Bettys of Harrogate will be there with its own cookery school.

The event, which itself was shortlisted in the White Rose Awards tourism event of the year, will be an opportunity for foodies not only to see some of the country’s best chefs at work, but also to see some of the region’s best food and drink producers.

There will also be crafts and lifestyle stalls, a range of free workshops, gin and whisky schools, a ‘pizza and Prosecco parlour’ and a mini beer festival. Festival goers will be able to taste the wares at ‘tasting tents’ and there will also be lots to entertain the children, with cookery classes, circus skills, and a ‘princess party’.

The festival is dog friendly, so people will be able to take their pets along, and there will also be camping available, for those wishing to stay the whole weekend.

And, there will also be live music from tribute acts, Take That Live, Abba Revival, Little Fix - winners of television’s ‘Better than the Real Thing’ and hot on the heels of Oscar nominated Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie Mercury tribute, Pure Magic. Supporting the main acts throughout the weekend will be a range of local talent.

Rachael Higgins, marketing director, at organisers, Events By B3, said “Our 2019 is set to be our best year yet. We have got so much planned we have had to open another field at the farm to fit everything in. I am so excited to have Bettys involved, plus I can’t wait to hear from Mary Berry, she is simply iconic.

“ The AA Rosette Demo stage hosted by the Devonshire, is the first of its kind too, where else would you find 18 AA Rosette Chefs cooking together.”

The event will take place on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21, from 9am to 9.30pm on both days. Free buses will run to the site throughout from Skipton Railway Station and from the High Street. Standard day tickets are £13.50 for adults, and £8.50 for up to 16 year olds, with weekend tickets at £24 and £15. A weekend family ticket is £66, and there are also VIP tickets. To find out more, visit: yorkshiredalesfoodanddrinkfestival.com