- 2021 Sunderland Food and Drink Festival to take place from June 1st to 27th
- The city-wide event hosted by Sunderland City Council and Sunderland BID will celebrate Sunderland’s restaurants and food retailers
- The month-long programme of events will feature virtual sessions with celebrities, cook-alongs and special dining experiences. Chef John-Christophe Novelli will headline.
Cookery demos by famous chefs, special dining experiences and plenty of fun for all the family are all part of the programme at Sunderland Food and Drink Festival, which will take place this year from 1st – 27th June.
The festival will also celebrate some of the city’s finest restaurants and food retailers in what promises to be an outstanding celebration of the region’s food and drink offering.
Is The Festival Virtual or Live?
This year’s festival will be different to the food festivals delivered in the past.
Instead of having a food market, residents are being encouraged to use the many restaurants and food retailers across the city. All the cookery demonstrations have been moved online, too.
Which Celebrity Chefs Will Be Doing Cooking Demos?
Michelin starred chef Jean-Christophe will headline.
He will be joined by celebrity chefs Rustie Lee and Great British Bake Off finalist Alice Fevronia. Food based science experiments by The Gastronaut, Stefan Gates, will also be held online.
What’s On For Children?
Schools and community groups are also being asked to show their creativity and what they love about their city by creating a cake for the festival.
Sunderland BID will be footing the bill for the cake challenge, and the groups taking part will be delivered a large white iced, sponge sheet cake, along with a goody bag with some edible cake decorating items.
Then it will be time for imaginations to run riot – turning the cake into an edible work of art which brings to life some aspect of the city.
Decorators could use the beach, the Empire Theatre, SAFC or the city centre as inspiration for their cake, which must be completed by a deadline which will be set in the near future.
Organisers want to hear from any group who would like to take part and who will then be delivered all the items they need ahead of a designated “cake day” when all cakes need to be completed.
Sunderland businesses ArtVenturers and Katie’s Garden will be hosting a series of craft videos that kids can join in throughout the month. These will be hosted on Sunderland Food and Drink Festival’s Facebook page.
Cllr Linda Williams, Portfolio Holder for Vibrant City said: “The whole city will benefit from this great event showcasing the very best of Sunderland cuisine.
“We have some amazing retailers and delicious local dishes in our vibrant city and we can’t wait to celebrate them.”
Sunderland Food and Drink Festival Week One Activities: Starters
Viewers can get ready to take their taste buds on a tour to the Caribbean and India in week one with line-up of delicious cooking demos.
Britain’s No1 authority on Caribbean cooking and TV presenter Rustie Lee will be cooking up a storm on Friday 4th at 7pm. Watch live on Sunderland Food and Drink Festival’s Facebook page as the star talks tasty cuisine.
Sunderland entrepreneurs Kam and Nedhi Chera diversified during lockdown last year.
The former restaurateurs launched The Funky Indianwali transporting their customers to the streets of India with their at home delivery service of Thali trays, platters and curry subscription service.
Nedhi will be hosting a virtual cookery demo on Sunday 6th, making one of her favourite family recipes.
From making healthy eating tasty at an affordable price, to juggling kids, work and eating right rather than going for the snacks, Joe Sexton makes sure that eating good is never boring.
His business, Fat Loss Feast, has helped millions of people all over the world eat tastier healthy food, move a little more, lose lots of weight and most importantly, make healthy living work for even the busiest of lifestyles.
Joe’s Live demo will take place on Saturday, June 5th on Sunderland Food and Drink Festival’s Facebook page.
Week Two Activities: Mains
Celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli will headline week 2, which is dedicated to mains.
The Michelin starred chef will host a live cookery demonstration on Saturday June 12th, followed by a cook-along session on Sunday 12th.
Sunderland’s The Ivy House will be hosting a vegan burger and pizza base demo, plus, Angelo’s Restaurant will be showcasing how families can make a delicious Italian dish.
Week Three Activities: Desserts
The highlight of week three’s cookery demonstrations will be from Great British Bake Off finalist’s Alice Fevronia and TV presenter Stefan Gates.
While Alice will doing a live bake along on Saturday 19th at 11am, TV chef and author Stefan Gates will be bringing plenty of fun – and the science of sweets – to his show on Sunday 20th at 11am.
Week Four Activities: Drinks
From Hideaway Cafe’s healthy drink demos to Angelo’s cocktail masterclass, raise a glass to the final week. New restaurant Undisclosed, set up by chef patron Christopher Spence, will be hosting a special dinner with Yorkshire Forager, Alisia Vasey, too.
For more information about dinner, or to buy tickets, call the restaurant on 0191 565 1988. More information can be found at the Sunderland Food & Drink Fest Website.
