Published: Friday, 17th May 2019

Hairy Bikers Si King and Dave Myers will be headlining this summer’s food fest, joined by festival favourite James Martin, the nation's most famous greengrocer Gregg Wallace and Michael Caines.

Hairy Bikers

The 14th annual event, organised by Bolton Council in association with Aldi, will be held over the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 23 to 26) in Bolton town centre.

Si and Dave starred at the festival from 2009 to 2011 but due to filming commitments have not been able to return until now.

The pair will be taking to the stage on the second day of the festival (August 24).

They said: “We are beyond excited about coming back to Bolton. We had such a great time last time we visited, and we’ve heard brilliant things about how the festival has grown since then. It’s a privilege to be coming back and it’s going to be lots of fun!”

Last year, the festival attracted more than 274,000 people and the event won ‘Best Market Attraction’ at the British Market of the Year awards earlier this year.

Festival goers can look forward to even more stalls selling food, drinks and crafts, live music, a gin festival, masterclasses from regional celebrity chefs, street performers, and a fantastic family zone.

Gregg fronts the popular Inside the Factory TV show, and will showcase recipes on Sunday (August 25).

He said: “I’m really looking forward to my first visit to the festival – I’ve heard lots of good things about it. I’ll be doing some cooking and am excited to meet some of the fantastic local producers and suppliers.”

James Martin will appear on Bank Holiday Monday (August 26), the final day of the festival, notching up his 11th appearance.

He said: “I love this festival. To see it grow from its early days to the mammoth event it is now is amazing. It’s an honour to be back.”

James Martin at Fred Dibnah

Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines will launch the festival on Friday (August 23) before hosting a gala dinner the same night.

He said: “Bolton is always a highlight. It’s a great community event bringing people together and I can’t wait to come back.”

Bolton Council’s Chief Executive, Tony Oakman, said: “What a line-up of amazing chefs for our brilliant event.

“The festival is one of the best in the country and the highlight of our events calendar.

“It has put Bolton on the culinary map and attracts hundreds of thousands to our wonderful town.

“There will be more announcements to come – please make sure you’re following the festival on social media to keep up to date with the latest.”

Ruth Doyle, Regional Managing Director at Aldi, added: “This will be our fifth year supporting the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and we’re really proud to be a partner again this year.

“Our local team will be there and are looking forward to sharing our award-winning products with the local community and visitors of Bolton. The headline chefs are part of a great line up and it’s sure to be a fantastic event.”

Tickets for the celebrity chef demos and the special events are set to go on sale at the end of May.

For updates, visit www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com, follow Bolton Food and Drink Festival page on Facebook or @boltonfoodfest on Twitter or Instagram.

Festival headline sponsor: Aldi Festival sponsor: Willmott Dixon Festival partners: Arts Council; Bolton Market; Bolton Library and Museum Services; Carrs Pasties; Greater Manchester Combined Authority; Octagon Theatre, and RRG Group Ltd.

Michael Caines

Biographies

Michael Caines is one of Britain's most acclaimed chefs. At Gidleigh Park, where he was at the helm for 21 years, he earned and held two Michelin stars.

Amongst numerous other accolades, Michael has cooked in 10 Downing Street for the Prime Minister, was awarded AA Chef's Chef of the Year in 2007, and received an MBE in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry.

He opened a country house hotel Lympstone Manor, set in 28 acres of Devon countryside.

James Martin was a regular chef on Ready Steady Cook (BBC2) before going on to present the hit BBC series Saturday Kitchen for 10 years, regularly attracting viewers in excess of 3.5 million. He now presents James Martin’s Saturday Morning on ITV.

His career began at Castle Howard where his father ran the catering and James often helped out.

He has gone on to publish 20 best-selling cook books including recent titles Fast Cooking: Really Exciting Recipes in 20 Minutes and James Martin’s French Adventure.

Opening in 2013, James Martin Manchester was listed in The Sunday Times Top 100 UK Restaurants for 2015/16.

Gregg Wallace

Gregg Wallace a familiar face to fans of the BBC’s MasterChef franchise, Gregg started his career as a greengrocer on Covent Garden Fruit and Veg Market.

Calling on his decades of experience in the food retail industry, Gregg fronts the popular Inside the Factory TV show, and other TV work includes Supermarket Secrets and Eat Well for Less.

A popular and engaging screen presence, Gregg has also appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and Who Do You Think You Are?

He has published numerous books including Gregg's Favourite Puddings, Veg: The Greengrocer's Cookbook and Gregg's Italian Family Cookbook.

The Hairy Bikers since Si King and Dave Myers appeared on our screens in 2004, the fun-loving duo have travelled the world in search of good food.

Si and Dave’s culinary TV adventures haven taken them from Namibia to Mississippi and from South Korea to Transylvania.

Together they have written 15 books including the bestselling The Hairy Bikers’ Perfect Pies, 12 Days of Christmas and The Hairy Bikers’ Great Curries.

The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight knocked 50 Shades of Grey from the top of the bestseller chart in 2012, where it remained for six weeks.