A WEEKEND of foodie fun kicks off in Bolton town centre today.

Bolton’s 11th Food and Drink Festival, the largest event of its kind in the north west, opens in and around Victoria Square from 10am, promising a huge variety of global cuisine and live music.

The Bolton News:

Michelin-starred Michael Caines will officially launch the festival with a free demonstration in the Vaults in the Market Place Shopping Centre at 2pm.

On Saturday, MasterChef host John Torode will be holding cookery demonstrations in the festival marquee at noon and will later be joined by wine experts Oz Clarke and Kate Goodman for a ‘Twilight tastings’ session at 6pm.

Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain will be the star attraction on Sunday, hosting a brunch and reading extracts from her new book before joining the Slattery family afternoon tea picnic.

Festival favourite James Martin will be returning for his ninth appearance to close the festival on Bank Holiday Monday, with demonstrations at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm.

Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris, said: “This is the 11th year of the festival and it just gets better and better. Each year we manage to surpass expectations and this year is no different. There is so much to see and do that you will need four days to see everything on offer.”

As well as the celebrity chef demonstrations in the main marquee on Victoria Square, the public are invited to free cookery shows in Bolton Market’s Lifestyle Hall on Ashburner Street and in The Vaults.

Headliners will include Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine, Manchester House chef Aiden Byrne, Masterchef winner Simon Wood, and celebrity chef Andrew Nutter.

For the youngsters, Mad Science North West will be offering hands-on science fun on Le Mans Crescent and The University of Bolton will bring racing cars and their own messy science experiments.

For the full schedule, visit boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com.