Yum! 2019 is back

It’s been tempting the taste buds for 10 flavour-filled years and now the Yum! Festival of Food and Drink is poised to serve up its biggest banquet yet!

The 2019 edition of a food fest which was launched by HullBID in 2010 is packed with so many TV chefs you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve taken a wrong turning from Queens Gardens and wandered into the BBC studios!

Add to that award-winning chefs specialising in a variety of cooking styles plus the top two challengers from a community cook competition organised in partnership with sponsors Hull College Hospitality and Catering School and you’ve got a recipe to savour.

And hold out your bowl because there’s more – with fantastic food and drink stalls showcasing the finest produce from Hull and the surrounding area as well as some delights from further afield.

Hull Street Food Night on Thursday 8 August will provide a mouth-watering appetiser for the Yum! Festival, which will take place from 11am until 7pm on Friday 9 August and Saturday 10 August in Queens Gardens and The Rose Bowl.

Renowned chef Nigel Brown will host the cookery demos on the Friday and will create some of his own dishes in addition to welcoming Nancy Birtwhistle, the 2014 Great British Bake Off winner, 2016 Masterchef quarter-finalist Mike Williams and some stars of the local catering scene.

On the Saturday, local radio presenter Darren Lethem will be joined by the Michelin-starred Paul Leonard from The Devonshire Arms in Skipton and by 2018 Masterchef semi-finalist Anthony O’Shaughnessy, with Mike Williams returning to serve a second helping.

The Saturday will also see the final of the Community Chef of the Year challenge. The competition is open to non-professional cooks throughout Hull and East Yorkshire and the top two will prepare and serve their dishes in front of the judges and the festival audience.

Foodie exhibitors at Yum! will include food and drink producers and retailers, bars and restaurants and street food specialists who have built big reputations during nearly three summers of Hull Street Food Nights. There will also be live music from The Bants and The Gherkins and a kids zone sponsored by St Stephen’s Shopping Centre.

Kathryn Shillito, HullBID Executive Director, said: “It’s amazing to think how much Yum! has progressed since we launched it in 2010. It’s become a big date in the city’s festival calendar, it played a part in inspiring Hull Street Food Nights and it has generated a lot of trade for food companies taking part in the festival and for businesses throughout the city centre who benefit from the extra footfall.”

For full details of exhibitors and cookery demos at the Yum! Festival of Food and Drink, please visit www.yumfestival.co.uk. Plus follow us on www.facebook.com/yumfoodfestival and @yumfoodfest on Twitter.