MALTON was the place to be for food lovers on Saturday as the third annual Harvest Food Festival took over the streets of the market town.

The Malton Harvest Food Festival, the sister event to the Food Lovers Festival held in May, showcased the region’s finest autumnal food and drink.

Taking centre stage at the festival was the new Game and Seafood Court sponsored by Game to Eat which offered locally caught shucked oysters, pork pies and an local meats.

Throughout the day, butchery and cooking demos took place in the Taste of Game demo kitchen and entertainment for all ages.

At the heart of the festival was the producer’s market with more than 80 food and drink stalls. There were also talks, tastings, live music and cooking demos from local chefs, including the Talbot Hotel’s Dan Graham and Peter Neville from the Pheasant Hotel.

Tom Naylor-Leyland, festival director, said: “It is important to celebrate the annual harvest season as it brings with it an abundance of seasonal produce, handcrafted, caught, reared and harvested from across our region, which years ago, would be packed in the pantry to keep us going throughout winter.”

“We reap the benefits of high quality, artisan producers throughout the year here in Malton but the Harvest Food Festival in September is one of the busiest times in the town, attracting thousands of visitors from Yorkshire and further afield. It is humbling to see children enjoy the food whilst understanding how important it is to eat locally and the tradition of giving thanks to the food we eat.”