MASTERCHEF star John Torode has encouraged everyone to come along to Bolton Town Centre for the second day of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

The Aussie chef will be performing two cookery demonstrations in the main marquee in Victoria Square at Noon and 2pm today.

He will also be joining wine experts Oz Clarke and Kate Goodman for a special tasting session in the Market Place vaults at 6pm.

Ahead of the day, John told The Bolton News why he is returning to the festival - and the town - for a third time.

He said: “One of the great things about Bolton is the sense of community and watching the festival change and grow and seeing people excited about it is great.

“Everyone from Bolton gets really behind the festival and is excited , it is very nice to come to a food festival where people want things to change and want things to be going well.

“As a result of that you have got a food festival which just continues to get better and better and grows and becomes more prosperous."

He said he believes the event is crucial for the development of the town, adding: “I think the festival is hugely important for Bolton, for the simple reason that it gets people into the town and I think a town like this is only going to be as good as its visitors.

“We know it is a tough world at the moment and I think Bolton can continue to be a success as a market town and that means that you need these events to keep people coming in."

Speaking about his cookery demos, he said: “Im going back to basics today, because I want to say to people, rather than trying to do fancy food and getting it wrong, I’m going to show you how to do the simple things in life very well."

He urged people to head to the town centre, stating: “I think people just have to come out, get here and have a look around, there is plenty to see, plenty to see and plenty to eat and drink, so get down here.”