The UK’s biggest food and drink festival kicked off day two in style in Bolton with a festival debut appearance from top British chef, Marco Pierre White.
The three-time Michelin starred chef took to the festival stage for live cooking demos, where he took the audience through a rosemary risotto recipe, while answering questions and sharing the dish with the crowd at the end.
During one of his sessions, answering a question from the audience, Marco declared he was yet to try one of the town’s famous Carrs pasties.
The situation was quickly rectified with Carrs Joe Carr presenting Marco with a selection of three pasties.
Upon tasting the steak pasty, Marco declared it to be “The best pasty in Britain, not just in England” and signed the Carrs pasty bag as a memento.
The streets of Bolton have been filled with people enjoying a brilliant day out and enjoying cuisine from around the world.
Elsewhere across the festival, chefs from Bolton’s twin towns Le Mans (France) and Paderborn (Germany) were also part of the programme today, flying in especially to bring their expertise and European flavour to the mix.
Nicolas Urrita, from Le Mans took to the Regional Chef Demo stage for a live session, with Paderborn’s Christoph Hesse following in his footsteps with a session at 3pm tomorrow.
Bolton Food and Drink Festival continues across the Bank Holiday weekend, with 90’s boy band East 17 set to take to the stage tomorrow (Sunday 24th) for a headline set on one of the festivals two music stages.
On Monday, festival favourite James Martin returns for three live cooking demos, with just a few tickets remaining to catch his sessions at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
Councillor Nick Peel said: “It has been fantastic to welcome one of Britain’s most renowned chefs to Bolton today and our audiences were thrilled to see a culinary master in action.
“The streets of Bolton have been filled with people enjoying a brilliant day out and enjoying cuisine from around the world.
“And we’re not finished yet – with two more days and a jampacked line up, everyone is welcome in Bolton this bank holiday weekend.”
Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2025 is running until Monday 25 August and is FREE to enter, with fun and activities for the whole family to feast on.