Kokova Magazine

Celebrity chefs The Hairy Bikers' are expected to draw record crowds as they roar into Cockermouth, headlining as guest chefs at this year's Taste Cumbria Food Festival.

The weekend-long event, which is to be held on September 24 and 25, is a celebration of the unrivalled food and drink on offer in the region, and returns to Cockermouth for the second year.

Popular cooking duo David Myers and Simon King will be giving demonstrations in the Festival's Celebrity Chef Theatre located on the town's Main Street. ??

The hairy pair will be cooking for audiences on Festival Saturday, showing how to prepare original dishes with locally-sourced produce and top quality ingredients - as well as mingling with festival-goers.

The Hairy Bikers are no strangers to Cumbria. Dave was born and bred in Barrow-in-Furness and now lives in Morecambe Bay, whilst Si hails from the nearby North East. ?

Both have also visited the region on numerous occasions during filming for their various TV cookery series including The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain and their upcoming series Meals on Wheels, and are looking forward to Festival Weekend.??

"Food Festivals are massively important these days as they are a real celebration of quality, local food and Taste Cumbria is particularly close to my heart. On our many travels around the UK we have constantly seen a genuine desire for authentic, seasonal produce which is very encouraging. We're both delighted to have been asked to come to Taste Cumbria Festival this year, and it's great to be back on home soil!" says Dave.

Simon agrees, adding: "As an honourary Cumbrian, I can testify to the fact that the region has a rich culinary heritage that’s incredibly diverse - with a wonderful selection of meat, poultry, fruit as well as fantastic real ales and ciders! Picturesque Cockermouth is the perfect backdrop for the event, and I know that the festival organisers are anticipating this year's Festival to be even busier than last year's."

Katie Read, West Cumbria Tourism Manager and organiser of Taste Cumbria Festival comments: "We are delighted to be welcoming David and Simon to this year's Taste Cumbria Food Festival celebrations. Drawing great names to the Festival such as these demonstrates the continuing rise of the calibre of the region's food and drink offer and our commitment in establishing a food event legacy for the region."

Tickets to the festival are available now from the official festival website www.tastecumbria.com

A full calendar of festival events will be available to download in early September.

You can also follow Taste Cumbria on Twitter (#TCFF) and Facebook.

Taste Cumbria is funded by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funded by Defra and the EU. The festival is organised and managed by Cumbria Tourism and SK Events.