THIS year’s Bolton Food and Drink Festival has been hailed as the best one yet as it heads into its final day.

Thousands of people have flocked to the town over the bank holiday weekend to enjoy the huge range of food and drink available and catch demonstrations from some of the country’s top chefs, including Ready Steady Cook Star Ainsley Harriott.

Victoria Square, Le Mans Crescent and other streets in the town centre have been packed with foodies making the most of the more than 200 stalls offering cuisine from all parts of the world.

Bolton Council chief executive Margaret Asquith said: “I think it is the biggest and best festival yet – everyone we speak to says ‘that’s better this year’ or ‘I’m glad you have moved that there’ and I’ve spoken to some traders who are here for the first time and they’ve said they wished they had come before. We’re hoping the numbers could even be up on last year, and that is good for everybody.”

Festival goers have been treated to special demonstrations from high-profile celebrity chefs such as Simon Rimmer of Sunday Brunch Fame, Come Dine With Me ‘champion of champions’ Polly Guy and festival ambassador Michael Caines.

And demonstrations from regional chefs have gone down just as well with the visiting public.

Highlights still to come on Monday include an appearance from former Saturday Kitchen host James Martin, who will be giving two cookery demonstrations at the Celebrity Chefs Marquee.

And Aiden Byrne and Nick Cullen be taking part in a ‘regional chefs showdown’ in the afternoon.

Ms Asquith said she the event had surpassed all her expectations.

She said: “It’s more than we expected, it’s brilliant, the traders have been great, the staff that work on it have been great and all the celebrities have really engaged with the people as well.

“I just think it’s better than ever, there’s a whole mixture of ticketed things and free things , so people can be entertained the whole way round. The Regional Chefs Tent is packed all the time, people are really, really loving that.”

She added that she was delighted with how the festival had gone over the first three days.

“It’s going brilliantly, even the sun has come out for us and yesterday was absolutely packed, we are delighted with the way it’s going.”

“The traders I’ve spoken to are all really happy, they’re trading well and people have had to restock this early in the festival.

“Everywhere you look people are eating and drinking, people are buying from the stalls and yesterday outside the marquee it was almost one way traffic because it was so busy.”

And Ms Asquith said that, as well as the quality of food and drink on offer, the event was excelling in other areas, too.

“This year I think the children’s attractions are going down really well,” she said.

“The Octagon Theatre has done us proud and all the characters from Alice in Wonderland walking around after the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party were just delightful. The looks on the children’s faces were just fabulous.”

A few tweaks made to last year’s festival also seem to have had the desired result.

She said: “I think moving the music stage has been a really good thing to do the acoustics are amazing and it was heaving down there last night.

Bolton Council leader, Cliff Morris, said he was delighted to see so many people flocking to the town centre.

He said: “Our aim was to make this a weekend for the whole family and it’s clear that people of all ages are having a great time.

“Our festival really puts Bolton on the map.”

The visit of flamboyant celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott was the undoubted highlight of day three at Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

The star of TV shows Ready Steady Cook and Can’t Cook Won’t Cook brought his trademark playful style to Bolton with typically uproarious results. He took to the Celebrity Chef’s Marquee in Victoria Square to show the crowd how to make yoghurt hot cakes, sea bass with Bajan stuffing and three cups chicken but not before having a wander and chatting with those who had turned out to watch his demonstration.

He picked 25-year-old Andy Settle from the audience to help him cook up the three dishes as he liked the look of his shirt and later on, as his 45-minute appearance overran by at least 20 minutes, he danced with compere Rose Dummer to a steel-drum calypso soundtrack.

He also fielded questions from the audience ranging from what his own personal favourite dish is (his mum’s red bean stew) and his appearance in Red Dwarf.

The 60-year-old star told The Bolton News he said has been impressed by what he has seen.

He said: My first impressions were of course of driving into the Square and seeing all the various stalls and seeing people smiling. “It’s day three into the festival and they’re making preparations for the onslaught of everyone who wants to come to the festival and it gives you a lovely flavour of global culinary food for everyone.

“That’s what festivals do they bring communities, cultures and people together.”And he is clearly a man still in love with what he does.

He said: “I’m looking forward to doing a bit of a cooking demonstration and bringing people up to the stage and letting people taste my culinary delights and just sharing food with people. it’s what I’ve been doing for the last 25 years, and long may it continue.”

“We’re really fortunate food has taken off in such a big way in this country — so much choice in on people’s doorsteps, because we have opened up that door and people have walked through that door and are really comfortable with it.

“And it’s not just our generation either — it’s kids as well and that’s really, really exciting.”

And although it was the TV star’s first appearance at Bolton Food and Drink Festival, he said he believed he may have visited the town as a child.

“My dad used to live in Manchester, the late Chester Harriott, he was a pianist. I’m sure I once came over with him years ago when he was performing at once of the theatres around here.

“I have vague memories of it, of turning up with your parents and just sitting in the car, not like these days when kids have got their eyes glued to their phones.”