A POPULAR market stall holder can’t wait to serve up lamb testicles at the food and drink festival.

Alain Job Nkono’s market stall in Bolton has already had eager customers trying the new craze, but the African chef is planning on making a mark with the unique meat for the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

For daredevil foodies, this is the perfect way to find out of they could make it through the eating challenge on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here, where stars chomp down many animal testicles for food stars.

Marinated and cooked on a grill, the lamb dish goes well with bowl of rice and according to Alain can be quite cheesy and intense when cooked.

He said: “I did a demo of it and realised that anybody can eat them if they like things like sirloin.

“We just season it with tropical spices and then grill them. It has a cheesy kind of taste, which adds to the intense flavour after seasoning.”

The dish piqued interest when market goers walk by the stall, Alain said: “First thing they say is that they never tried it and if it is real.

“They’re curious and the demand started to come from the curiosity and now people wait 30 minutes as we run out and make more.”

Nkono’s has been attending the festival for six years getting the people of Bolton used to his Cameroon cuisine.

He said: “I like to think we are waving the Bolton flag as we have people coming from Preston, Blackburn, Blackpool and the rest of Greater Manchester coming to try our food.

“We have had a difficult time with the pandemic and lost a member of staff, so we think this is what the town needs to come together.”

Alain will also be performing a cooking demo of a Ugandan dish called Matoke, something he has never made before but is eager to impress, especially as Ugandan friends head to the festival to see how well he makes it.