Organisers of the Halifax Food and Drink Festival, which this year is being held in association with The Halifax have announced that celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson will appear at this year’s event along with Jean-Christophe Novelli who is already confirmed.

The festival which is delivered by Marketing Halifax will take place from Friday 16th September to Sunday 18th September at The Piece Hall, just one of the town’s many striking heritage attractions.

Antony’s cooking career has spanned more than 30 years during which time he has established himself not only as one of the UK’s most popular chef’s but also a prolific restaurateur, TV entertainer, author, journalist, farmer and campaigner.

Always at the forefront of new developments in food, Antony is increasingly involved in food and health issues, frequently speaking at NHS events on diabetes, heart disease and the benefits of a GI Diet and campaigning for the organic food movement and farmers’ markets.

Antony is a regular judge for the Academie Culinaire’s Annual Awards of Excellence and until recently he was Chairman of the Restaurateurs’ Association of Great Britain. He has won industry accolades in abundance and has been awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de Grande Bretagne (MOGB) – the chef’s Oscar – and is one of only seven chefs to have merited the lifelong title so far

Regularly requested to present popular television cooking programmes, Antony has appeared on a whole catalogue of primetime television shows to share his culinary expertise and love of food with the masses.

Michay Matthews, Marketing, Events and Membership Manager at Marketing Halifax said: “Antony Worrall Thompson has made a significant contribution to the culinary world and we’re therefore very excited to welcome a chef of his distinction to our town. He champions excellence across the industry as well as the use of locally sourced and organic food, and with such a plethora of exceptional local producers and high quality restaurants in Calderdale, it’s a great pleasure to be working with someone that shares the local values.”

Antony Worrall Thompson said: “It’s great to have been asked to come to the Halifax Food and Drink Festival. The Yorkshire region generates a fantastic array of first-class food and I cannot wait to show festival visitors how to utilise the wonderful local produce available on their doorstep to create some delicious regional dishes.”

Visitors to the event can expect a feast of all things foodie – as the region’s best restaurants, eateries and producers join together to provide a fun-filled weekend which will include a local producers market, live cookery demonstrations, a premium food and drinks marquee, children’s cookery workshops, food tastings, expert master-classes and evening entertainment.

For more information on the full programme of events including ticket information, join www.facebook.com/halifaxfoodfest