Top chefs Glynn Purnell and Paul Foster to headline fun-packed programme for Coventry Food Festival
Top local chefs Glynn Purnell and Paul Foster will lead a packed programme of food and fun at Coventry Food Festival this summer.
The two top chefs will headline the food festival, which takes place in the city centre from Friday, 17th June to Sunday 19th June, offering everything from cooking demos and a packed food market around Broadgate to a ‘Coventry cook-off’ competition. The food festival weekend, organised by Coventry BID, runs alongside its Music Live event featuring top DJs Paul Oakenfold and Eddie Halliwell and M People’s Heather Small.
Entertainment will include fun for all the family, including a kids’ workshop, travelling roadshow and an array of entertainers including stilt walkers, while the Assembly Garden will also host a ‘Dads’ Den’ to help celebrate Father’s Day with all sorts of entertainment.
Purnell, who has held a Michelin star for the last 14 years and is a regular on programmes such as BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen, is planning to open a restaurant in Coventry and recently launched pub and restaurant The Mount in Henley-in-Arden, will take to the stage for two free demos on Saturday, 18th June, as part of the fun-packed food festival.
Fellow Saturday Kitchen regular Paul Foster, who runs Stratford-based Michelin-starred restaurant Salt, will also take to the stage – will be headlining the festival on its opening day on Friday, 17th June.
Glynn Purnell said: “I had a great time at Coventry Food Festival in 2019 and am looking forward to being back on stage in June. Coventry is coming on leaps and bounds and changing all the time, especially when it comes to food and drink, so it’s great to be part of the journey. See you all on 18th June!”
Paul Foster said: “I’m delighted to be on board with the Coventry Food Festival. It’s shaping up to be a great weekend of food and music that really shows off how far Coventry has come in its food offering, and all the great places around the city in Warwickshire. The food scene in our area is a great community and we’re always up for supporting each other, so I look forward to seeing everyone on Friday to kick off the food festival weekend.”
The festival will also feature a ‘Coventry Cook Off’ competition running on Saturday and Sunday, compered by local comedian ‘Funny Francis’, which gives local restaurants a chance to cook up a storm in front of a live audience, with the winner receiving a trophy on Sunday afternoon. Throughout the weekend, there will also be ‘Meet the Trader’ moments on stage, where local producers and food businesses will tell their stories to festival compere, local food blogger Ellen Manning.
Alongside all that, there will be plenty of entertainment and a chance to pick up tasty treats from the food market, while music lovers will be able to party the night away on both Friday and Saturday, with top acts performing at the Assembly Garden for Music Live.
Coventry BID Director Trish Willetts said: “We’re delighted to have secured two of our area’s top chefs for Coventry Food Festival. Both Glynn and Paul are local to the area, and to have them showing off their skills on stage shows just the tip of the iceberg of the support there is for great events in our city centre.
“Coventry Food Festival and Music Live are shaping up to be one of the biggest weekends of the summer, with top chefs, world-famous music acts and plenty of community-focused activities for all the family. We can’t wait to welcome everyone for a long overdue celebration and to showcase all the great stuff our city has to offer.”
The Coventry Food Festival will take place from 11am to 5pm on Friday, 17th June, 10am to 5pm on Saturday, 18th June, and 11am to 4pm on Sunday, 19th June, with music acts performing on the Friday and Saturday nights.
Entry to the food festival is free, but tickets must be purchased for Music Live. Early bird tickets have already sold out, but tickets priced £30 remain on sale at the following links:-