Food festival serves up record success

A County Durham food festival has drawn crowds in their thousands, boosting footfall and showcasing the region’s growing appetite for culinary events.

Durham County Council’s Bishop Auckland Food Festival returned over the weekend (18-19 April), filling the town’s Market Place with visitors and more than 150 traders.

Festival-goers sampled a wide range of food and drink, while live cookery demonstrations from chefs including Phil Vickery, Shivi Ramatour, Briony May Williams and Jasmine Mitchell drew large crowds.

The line-up also featured Aaron Mountford-Myles, with hands-on workshops led by chocolatier Paul A Young giving visitors the chance to learn new skills.

Beyond food, the festival delivered a wider programme of entertainment, including live music, roaming performers and arts and crafts, helping to create a vibrant atmosphere in the town centre.

New for 2026, a dedicated cookery school gave younger visitors the opportunity to take part in interactive sessions, encouraging early interest in cooking.

Councillor Karen Allison, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, said: “We are absolutely delighted at how Bishop Auckland Food Festival 2026 panned out, if you’ll excuse the pun!

“It was brilliant to see so many people coming out with their families and friends and really enjoying everything our festival had to offer. 

“The cookery demonstrations put on by Phil Vickery and our other guests certainly put smiles on faces and the mouth-watering dishes our 150 plus traders served up, seemed to go down a treat.

“It’s great that the festival supports businesses, both those at the event and those in Bishop Auckland, which we hope will notice an increase in takings with so many people coming into the town centre over the weekend.”

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