I AM thrilled to announce that we now have two food festivals every year. Yes two. On Saturday, September 12, the town launches its autumn spectacular - Malton Game and Seafood Fest.

Game from the moors, shellfish from the coast, what Malton does best. The splendid thing about an autumn food festival is the natural abundance of great produce and so I feel is only right and proper for “Yorkshire’s Food Capital” to have a harvest festival. After all we’ve got to keep innovating.

What a line-up we’ve got. Forty-five stalls of delicious Yorkshire produce making the very best of the wild larder of god’s own county and coastline. Some will be on theme, but don’t worry there will also be wonderful sweet treats, baking and drinks. They’ll be street food too all with the autumnal theme. Steaming bowls of mussels, roast venison, wild boar sausages, even pigeon pizza. I am particularly excited by Smoking Blues street food who always do amazing dishes and so I am intrigued to hear what they’ll be cooking up.

Michelin-starred chefs James Mackenzie and Andrew Pern will both be cooking and I must thank them for giving their names to our new festival. They’ll both be giving demonstrations in the chef’s demo theatre. Dan Graham, the man who has taken over from James Martin at the Talbot Hotel will also be cooking live. There is a great line-up of live music with brass bands, folk bands and sea shanties. Brass Castle Brewery will be doing a smaller version of their festival bar and Slow Motion will be making those amazing cocktails again.

Talbot Yard will also be part of the new festival with Groovy Moo ice cream creating some wonderful flavours specially for the festival and both Brass Castle and Bad Seed will have their brewery tap open. Added to this Malton Brasserie, an everyday dining option for the town on will also have its official opening on that day.

Although the Game and Seafood Fest is the baby brother of the May festival it will grow in time. Hopefully in coming years it will grow and grow.

All this reminds us that it’s so important Malton continues to grow and innovate. With so many positive press reports, a good feeling in town and the realisation that with our famous May festival, busy markets, cookery school, growing restaurant scene and award winning Made in Malton producers, the town can deservedly call itself a "food town".

But we must do more, much more to establish the town as a centre for excellence in British and Yorkshire food and make it a "must visit" destination for the whole of the North! Ambitious, but that’s where we’re heading. We must continue to innovate and be forward thinking, something I think Malton is actually brilliant at already, keeping its best traditions while pioneering new ideas.