Great British Bake Off stars at food festival at Hardwick Hall

Howard Middleton (ex Great British Bake Off), who will help judge on one of the days, said: “I love demoing at the shows and the highlight of the weekend is judging the public cake off. The effort people put into their cakes is simply staggering and I learn from these showstoppers every time. So get baking and bring a cake to enter. I can’t wait to try them and you might even win a prize!”

Running from May 5 to 7, the festival will feature a chef demo stage with names from the Great British Bake Off, Julia Chernogorova, Sandy Docherty and Howard Middleton all headlining one day each.

Alongside the celeb chefs, some of the best regional talent will be showcasing their skills; from baking tips to fine dining know-how, the demo theatre is the place to be for any budding chef!

The event has lots of artisan producers who will also showcase the best in seasonal and speciality food and drink. Pulled pork, prime steak and local sausages are just a few of the flavours you can enjoy. For those with less traditional tastes, why not sample an ostrich burger or enjoy tasty Thai and Caribbean flavours?

Dan Maycock, festival director, said: “We’re thrilled to announce the great chefs at this year’s event. The ‘Cake Off’ competition is great fun, it’s fantastic to see the public entries and what they can do, and all bakes get free entry to the event with their cake!”

Tickets are now available on the website: www.greatbritishfoodfestival.com