Sending a belated Valentine to this year’s Food and Drink Festival

After thousands of people came out to enjoy Ely’s first Food and Drink Festival as part of the Eel weekend last year, planning is well under way for 2015 – with the first celebrity chef signed up.
Valentine Warner – the renowned food writer and cook, famous for his BBC series ‘What to Eat Now’ and a host of cookery books including ‘What to eat next’ has agreed to open next year’s event on Sunday 3 May.
As well as cookery demonstrations, Valentine will be also signing copies of his latest book and offering tips on creating robust, flavoursome food.
This week’s announcement is just the start of many, as planning begins in earnest to ensure the Food and Drink Festival 2015 sponsored by G’s Fresh will be the best yet. The weekend will again look to have a fantastic line up of local chefs, stalls and demonstrations plus other special events.
Cllr Hamish Ross, Service Delivery Champion: Markets & Town Centres at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We had a fantastic Eel Weekend last year with thousands of people coming to Ely to throughout the three days. We were especially pleased with the success of the Food and Drink Festival which took place in the shadow of Ely Cathedral. It was a highlight of the year for many people, as they saw some of the best local chefs demonstrate their skills and were able to taste some amazing local produce.
“We started planning early for 2015 and are really excited that locally based and internationally renowned G’s Fresh, have agreed to sponsor our Cookery Theatre which this year will be officially opened by Valentine Warner.  Valentine is well known for his passion for nature, the seasons and being outdoors so he seems a perfect fit for Festival. Signing up Valentine is the first of what I am sure will be a number of fantastic names to light up our event next year so watch this space for more announcements.”
Valentine Warner, said: “In recent years, we have seen a revolution in the way we cook, eat and approach food. As a nation, it feels like good cooking is not just an aspiration but something we all want to achieve in our own homes. This is why events such as the Ely’s Food and Drink Festival are so exciting – they offer the opportunity for people like me to highlight different ways of cooking food and the vast arrange of ingredients you can use. Ely and the Fens are well known for their fantastic local produce and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to open this year’s Festival.”
Valentine Warner is a cook, food writer and broadcaster. Training originally as a portrait painter he went on to become a chef in London’s kitchens for five years before running his own catering company.
Being in the right place or saying the  right thing at the correct moment Valentine suddenly found himself on television, where his deep love of cooking, nature and travel has seen him make nine series  and contribute to  others. His appearances have spanned a few channels BBC, UKTV and Fox International and written articles have been published for a variety of magazines and newspapers. He loves radio.
Valentine has written four cookery books, three of which he illustrated –  What to Eat Now , What to Eat Now More Please, The Good Table and What to Eat Next. He would generally prefer to be found in a field rather than an office and is most likely to be holding a spoon, a fishing rod or a mossy stick.
Press Release from East Cambridgeshire District Council