Food, glorious food brings visitors flocking to Ryedale (From Gazette & Herald)

Food, glorious food brings visitors flocking to Ryedale

THE first Ryedale Festival of Food and Drink at Castle Howard proved such a success that within hours of it closing on Bank Holiday Monday plans were already being made to stage another next year.

It attracted almost 10,000 people from all parts of the North - 6,000 more than the organisers had expected.

Nicole Hingley, spokeswoman for Castle Howard, said: "It was a great success.

"Everyone was delighted with the numbers of people who attended and obviously a great deal of business was done by the 70 food and drink companies which took part."

While the marquees where the traders were exhibiting were busy throughout the two-day event, it was the cookery theatre demonstrations which proved the big crowd-puller.

Even the standing-room-only space was filled to capacity in the big marquee theatre, where celebrity chef Brian Turner showed off his culinary skills, along with Andrew Pern of The Star Inn, Harome, Castle Howard's Steve Cockburn and Rob Green of Green's Restaurant, Whitby.

The food ranged from traditional cheese made in the Yorkshire Dales and a wide range of preservatives, to venison meat products and Yorkshire punch, which proved popular.

The festival was a joint venture between Ryedale District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, the Regional Food Group for Yorkshire and Castle Howard.

Andrew Leeming, Ryedale's economic development officer, said it had been 18 months in the planning.

"It's great to have seen it come to reality and be such a success."

Many of the dishes demonstrated by the celebrity chefs were made from products grown or produced in North Yorkshire.

"My aim was to inspire those watching just what can be achieved and to encourage them to try something different," said Mr Leeming.

Extensive ranges of traditional home-baking made by companies in the county were contrasted with more exotic dishes such as an Eccles cake made from raspberries and pineapple, while Dexter beef from one of the country's rare breeds was being sampled, and scores of bundles of newly-cut asparagus from Ronda Morritt's farm at Sand Hutton was in demand.

Updated: 10:56 Wednesday, June 01, 2005