MALTON’S Talbot Yard is to hold a special launch event next month.

Special guest will be Belinda Williams, co-founder of Yorkshire Provender, which sells its range of hand-prepared soups through leading supermarkets.

The collection of six food production units at Talbot Yard, refurbished by the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate and situated opposite the Talbot Hotel and the James Martin Restaurant, is on track to welcome its first tenant in October.

Belinda, who co-founded Yorkshire Provender soups with her husband Terry in 2004, said: “I am delighted to be attending this launch night in Malton.

“The food agenda for Malton is in line with our own, which includes taking the freshest seasonal ingredients, marrying them together in an imaginative way to produce a consistently superior product.

“All our soups are made in our North Yorkshire kitchen sourcing vegetables from local and British farms where we can.”

Talbot Yard is aimed at start-up food companies, or kitchen-table concerns looking to take their business to the next level.

Tobias Burckhardt, the Estate’s surveyor, said: “Talbot Yard is part of Malton’s ‘Food Capital’ agenda. We want to capture Malton’s growing reputation as a food town and to do that we set ourselves the target of turning Talbot Yard into a hub for food and drink producers - a place where the best food and drink can be created.”

Mr Burckhardt added: “The launch event will be a chance for guests to view Talbot Yard in a relaxed, formal way and envisage their own business being in Malton.

The launch event will take place on Thursday , October 9, 6pm to 7.30pm.

For more information phone 01653 692849 or visit www.maltonestate.com