WIRRAL-BORN CHEF SIMON RIMMER, PRESENTER OF CHANNEL 4’s SUNDAY BRUNCH, IS SET TO HOST A CULINARY FEAST FEATURING A TRIO OF MERSEYSIDE TV CHEFS AT THIS YEAR’S LIVERPOOL FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL. THE ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE CITY’S FOOD AND DRINK SCENE IS RETURNING TO SEFTON PARK FOR THE TENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON 16 AND 17 SEPTEMBER.

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Simon Rimmer’s culinary feast at Liverpool Food and Drink Festival will include demonstrations by nationally acclaimed Merseyside chefs – Nisha Katona of Mowgli, Paul Askew of The Art School and Aiden Byrne of Manchester House. The audience will then be served a sumptuous meal featuring dishes showcased in the demonstrations by each of the three top chefs.

The ‘demo and dine’ concept offers foodies a chance to engage with TV chefs in an intimate setting, while giving them an opportunity to taste their most popular dishes. The exclusive culinary feast will have limited availability and will be set in a specially created pop-up restaurant at this year’s event.

Simon Rimmer will host the show in his usual entertaining and conversational style, while the TV chefs share anecdotes, tips and trade secrets as they show guests how to

re-create some of their favourite dishes at home.

Simon Rimmer, Nisha Katona, Paul Askew and Aiden Byrne, who all have strong roots in Merseyside, have each made regular appearances at Liverpool Food and Drink Festival over the past 10 years.

Paul Askew, who has appeared on Saturday Kitchen and is currently competing on BBC 2’s Great British Menu, has taken part in Liverpool Food and Drink Festival every year since appearing at the inaugural event in 2007. He is Patron Chef at The Art School restaurant in Liverpool city centre, which has recently been named by The Sunday Times as one of the top 100 restaurants in the UK.

Barrister turned restaurateur, Nisha Katona, is a regular chef on ITV’s This Morning. She is also the curry evangelist behind the delightful Indian street food restaurant, Mowgli, with two eateries in Liverpool and a third in Manchester.

Kirkby-born Aiden Byrne, who became the youngest chef ever to win a Michelin star at the age of 22, has appeared on numerous TV shows including Masterchef and BBC 2’s Great British Menu, in which he has competed three times. He is the chef behind The Church Green gastro pub in Lymm, The British Grill at MacDonald Craxton Wood Hotel near Chester and Manchester House, which he opened with Living Ventures in 2013.

Simon Rimmer makes regular TV appearances and is best known for presenting Sunday Brunch every week. He is the chef behind The Viking Pub and Bakehouse in West Kirby, The Elephant and Liberty Tavern in Woolton and Greens in Didsbury.

Simon is looking forward to the celebrating the city’s top talent at the tenth anniversary of Liverpool Food and Drink Festival later this year. He said: “Liverpool boasts some fantastic culinary talent and the high calibre of young chefs coming through is testament to the city’s thriving food and drink scene.

“Liverpool Food and Drink Festival is a great opportunity to celebrate the city’s success and its growing reputation for food and drink excellence. It’s a real honour to be hosting the culinary feast, which will showcase such talented local chefs as Aiden, Paul and Nisha. They are all great ambassadors for the city’s food and drink sector and I love the ‘demo and dine’ format; it’s going to be a lot of fun!”

Isabella Kantor, Festival Manager at Liverpool Food and Drink Festival, added: “We are thrilled to have the support of Simon, Aiden, Paul and Nisha, who will be bringing the ‘demo and dine’ concept to the festival for the first time. I would urge visitors to reserve their tickets for the culinary feast online well in advance to avoid missing out on this one off opportunity.

“The city’s food and drink scene has come a long way since the first Liverpool Food and Drink Festival took place 10 years ago and that has been reflected in the continuous growth of the event. As we approach our tenth year, I would like to thank the fantastic local restaurants, bars, cafes and producers that help make the event such a big success. Liverpool Food and Drink Festival gets bigger and better every year and this year is set to be no exception.”

Liverpool Food and Drink Festival is a pop-up event, which transforms leafy Sefton Park into a food lovers’ paradise. The event brings the city’s best restaurants, bars, cafes and producers together for a giant celebration of culinary talent.

Tickets to Simon Rimmer’s culinary feast at Liverpool Food and Drink Festival cost £29.50 and must be booked in advance. This includes entry to Liverpool Food and Drink Festival and access to the culinary feast, which includes TV chef demonstrations and an exclusive meal prepared by one of the chefs.

Visitors will have a choice of attending one of three sessions, which start at 11:30am, 2:15pm and 4.45pm. Tickets are available online: www.liverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk.