CHESTER celebrated the region’s best food and drink this week at the Chester Food & Drink Festival’s eighth annual Gala Awards dinner.
The event at Chester Racecourse on Wednesday, last week, marked the climax of the main festival.
The sell-out evening began with a cocktail reception courtesy of Bar Lounge and more than 260 guests were treated to a four-course gourmet meal with musical accompaniment, hosted by Simon Nicks and Alina Kavanagh of Marcher Sound.
Chairman of the Chester Food & Drink Festival, Stephen Wundke, said: “There’s never been a better time for food and drink in Chester and Cheshire.
“There have been 20,200 visitors to the festival over the last three days, a 25% increase from last year.
“Two years ago, 81% of visitors to the festival said they would return again, 24% having spent more than £20. This year it was 91% who would return, 58% having spent over £20.
“Those figures equate to an economic impact for the city of almost £2m.
“The weather was fantastic but it was the quality of the produce and our celebrity cooking demos that earn the most credit for the increased attendance so I would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to everyone involved.
“Our vision now is to progress this to become the lifestyle event of the North West within the next five years and we have set ourselves the target of 50,000 visiting Chester over Easter. With the help ofŠCheshire West and Chester Council and Chester Racecourse we think this is achievable. We look forward to continuing our successes next year.”
Both the public and the food and drink industry voted for the award categories, so it was their favourite restaurant, bar, pub, café, hotel, shop and food producers that received a prestigious Food & Drink Festival Award.
