The Food Festival in the Victoria Quarter, held as part of the Leeds Loves Food event from 1st – 4th July, was a huge success with 100’s of people enjoying the demonstrations and tastings on offer in the centre.
There were demos by Stephanie Moon, Head Lecturer at Leeds City College and former Head Chef at Rudding Park, and Richard Walton Allen, Executive Chef at Harvey Nichols, as well as from two local suppliers, Lishmans of Ilkley and Ramus Seafood.
The keynote events though were two live cooking shows by TV Chef Lesley Waters, popular for her appearances on Ready, Steady, Cook and ITV’s This Morning. Lesley prepared two full three course meals which went down a treat with watching crowds.
All VQ’s food stores participated with stalls and tastings, with Anthony’s deli selections, Opposite Cafe’s coffee sampling and YO! Sushi proving particularly popular.
On Sunday 4th Harvey Nichols and Anthony's Patisserie also hosted a Tea Party in Queen Victoria Street, which was attended by 100 guests.
VQ Centre Director, John Bade commented, “The focus of the event was on food that is locally available, and went a long way to raising awareness of the high quality products that are accessible in our region. Food miles are a much talked about topic at the moment, so I’m sure people would have found it interesting that noted chefs such as Richard Walton Allen from Harvey Nichols and Anthony Flinn use locally sourced ingredients.”
“We were especially pleased to have Leeds City College represented and see some of the students who are training to be the chefs of tomorrow. I’m sure they will have taken away some hot tips from Lesley Waters’ demonstration.”