Promotion
BOLTON'S newly-opened Vaults at The Market Place shopping centre was the venue for the launch of the city's food festival. Top chefs, sponsors and local businesses gathered to hear details of the event which is organised by Bolton Council in association with Aldi.
The Vaults will be holding wine tasting sessions with wine experts Oz Clarke and Kate Goodman
Celebrity chefs James Martin, John Torode and Michael Caines will join Great British Bake Off winner, Nadiya Hussain to give cookery demos at Bolton Food Festival over the August Bank Holiday.
Bolton's subterranean Vaults are part of an ambitious redevelopment of the Market Place and this year, the Vaults will be holding wine tasting sessions with wine experts Oz Clarke and Kate Goodman as well as also hosting regional chef demos.
Top chefs such as Aiden Byrne and Robert Owen Brown will be sharing their cookery skills with free demonstrations in The Vaults.
Owen Brown, who was behind The Mark Addy, said at the launch: 'It is one of the premier events in the whole country. The Vaults are amazing – what's going on here is a fantastic use of space and I'm looking forward to doing some demos here.'
Bolton Market will continue to host regional chef cookery demon on Friday and Saturday.
Already, restaurants including Prezzo and Nando's have taken up residence in the Vaults, with other big names to be announced soon. A nine-screen cinema is also due to open in the complex upstairs later in the year
More than 200,000 visitors attended Bolton Food and Drink Festival last year to watch the chefs in action and sample a huge variety of cuisine from all over the world. It has become one of the most important food events in the North West.
Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Moriss, said: 'The festival goes from strength to strength and we are all excited about 2016.
'It is fantastic that we are able to launch such a prestigious event in such amazing surroundings – the Vaults are a superb addition to Bolton town centre and fit perfectly with the festival.
'We are working together to showcase the best of Bolton and make this year's festival again one to remember.'
Tim Vaughan, chief executive of the Moorgarth group which owns the Market Place, said he was delighted to be involved with the festival and that the Vaults were to become an integral part of this year's event.
The festival's headline sponsor is Aldi and other sponsors include: University of Bolton, Market Place Shopping Centre, Stateside Foods and William Dixon. Partners include: Arts Council, Bolton College, Bolton Market, KRO, Octagon Theatre, Slattery and Worsley Park Marriott Hotel and Country Club.
Tickets for celebrity chef demos and special events will go on sale at the end of May.
