Leeds prepares for month long food and drink festival

From May 22 until June 7, 2015, food lovers throughout the country will be making sure they stop by Leeds to have a taste of best cuisine the city has to offer.

Running over the two week period, The Leeds Food and Drink Festival returns for its 10th year and will close out month long celebration of the city’s food and drink scene.

The annual festival contributed in attracting over 3,126,699 people to the city centre last year.

The theme of the 2015 festival, which is expected to be the biggest yet, is discovery; and organisers have invited and challenged food lovers from across the country to try something new.

The two week celebration is also asking local businesses to sign up for free to take part in the festival that culminates in the Yorkshire Post Food and Drink Show in Millennium Square (5th,6th and 7th June).

The festival, which is organised by Leeds City Council in partnership with the Yorkshire Post, hopes to grow from the involvement of over 200 local businesses in 2014 and aims to become one of the UK’s leading urban food and drink festival.

This year the festival organisers are working alongside the Leeds Indie Food Festival, which takes place from 7th until 24th May, to create the unique month long celebration of the city’s food and drink scene.

Asda, the leading UK supermarket headquartered in Leeds, is the festival’s headline sponsor.

Councillor Gerry Harper said: “The Leeds Food and Drink Festival offers a fantastic opportunity to attract visitors to the city and for them to engage with the strong foodie community that has formed here. From independent coffee shops to well-known restaurant chains, there is something to please every palate and I’m looking forward to seeing what the restaurateurs, shop owners and producers do to celebrate the two week spectacular.”

Barry Williams, chief customer officer of Asda, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Leeds Food and Drink Festival for a fourth year and to be celebrating the fantastic local produce, entrepreneurial spirit and ever evolving culture of food that exists within our great city. We’re very proud to support such a prominent event and hope to inspire even more people to pick up a pan and discover the pleasure of cooking.”

Deborah Copeland, director of communications at Leeds and Partners, which is helping deliver the festival, also commented: “Now in its 10th year Leeds Food and Drink Festival has become a standout event in the food lover’s calendar. We have big ambitions for this year’s festival and in partnership with Leeds Indie Food Festival we will continue to raise the bar of urban food festivals.

“The fact that Leeds is one of only two UK cities to hold a month long celebration of its food and drink scene, shows the breadth, diversity and quality of restaurants, chefs and products that we have on our doorstep.”