Chester-le-EATS set for biggest festival yet

A County Durham food and drink festival is serving up its biggest programme yet as it prepares to celebrate its fifth birthday.

Chester-le-EATS will return to Banks Homes Riverside in Chester-le-Street on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, bringing together street food, independent producers, live entertainment and family activities.

Organised by Durham Cricket, the festival will run from 11am to 5pm on both days, with entry remaining free for adults and children.

This year’s event will feature its largest trader line-up to date, with food spanning everything from tacos and loaded fries to banh mi, macaroni cheese and fish and chips.

Traders include Chicken Ting, Flankman Tacos, Geordie Banger Co, Grandpa’s Fish Bar, Redheads Mac ‘N’ Cheese, The Big Banh and The Loaded Dawg.

Visitors with a sweet tooth will be catered for by businesses including The Dessert Hub, The Hedgehog Bakery, Le Mini Macaron and The Sunrise Patisserie, while artisan producers will offer cheese, spirits, crafts and gifts.

A new addition for the fifth anniversary will be three bookable food and drink masterclasses, priced at £35 each.

Flight!, hosted by Hen & Hops, will pair beer with chicken wings, while Uncorked! will offer wine tasting with Crush Wine Bar owner and sommelier Daniel Jonberger.

The third experience, Distilled, will combine gin, cheese and charcuterie with the Ginologists from Tin of Sardines.

Elsewhere, a dedicated Family Zone will offer children’s activities throughout the weekend.

Live entertainment, delivered in partnership with Proper Mint Concerts, will include musicians, theatre and dance performers across both days.

Rock Choir returns on Saturday for two performances, with Luke Palmer, To Hell or Verona, Matty Fenny and Patrick Kelly also appearing.

Sunday’s programme includes Annis Rallis, Liv & Jon, Jamie Lee Harrison and Channy Dance Academy.

Chester-le-EATS was established to showcase independent food and drink businesses while bringing people together at Durham Cricket’s home ground.

Ythan Sale, events manager at Durham Cricket, said: “It’s difficult to believe Chester-le-EATS is five years old. 

“What started as an idea to bring great food, drink, music and people together at Durham Cricket has grown beyond anything we could have imagined, and the support from traders, performers and thousands of visitors over those five years has been incredible.

“For our fifth birthday, we didn’t simply want to do the same festival again. 

“We wanted to celebrate how far we’ve come while making this our biggest year yet with the most traders, new experiences, a fantastic entertainment programme and for the first time, our Masterclasses.”

No advance booking is required for the main festival, with only the optional masterclasses requiring paid tickets.

For the latest festival information, full trader line-up, and to book tickets for the Masterclasses, click here.

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