Sunday sunshine followed Saturday’s rain as food-lovers flocked to County Durham’s coastline for two days of festival fun.
Some 120 traders were part of this year’s Seaham Food Festival, serving up everything from sizzling street food to sausage rolls, scotch eggs, cheesecakes, cheese, olives, bakes and cakes.
The Durham County Council-run event attracted thousands of visitors across the two days, providing a significant boost to businesses trading at the festival and in the town.
Visitors got to watch an inspiring set of demonstrations from a line-up of top celebrity chefs at the outdoor cookery theatre, hosted by TV presenter Chris Bavin. Taking to the stage on Saturday were MasterChef 2023 champion Eddie Scott; Great British Bake Off 2022 winner Syabira Yusoff; vegan baker Freya Cox; and local talent Jonny Stewart, who was a contestant on MasterChef 2023. They were followed on Sunday by Nadia and Dina Sawalha – known as The Curly Cooks of Croydon; MasterChef Professionals 2022 champion Nikita Pathakji; and Briony May Williams, presenter, cook and baker.
As well as the selection of food, there were exciting activities and entertainment including music and street performances, outdoor family theatre, and sports and craft workshops.
Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham Council’s cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “While the rain did bring its unexpected moments this weekend, we had an absolutely fantastic time at Seaham Food Festival. It was great to see so many people from across the region come down and enjoy the incredible produce our traders have to offer.
“We would like to thank everyone for coming out despite the unpredictable weather, we hope you had as much fun as we did. I’d also like to thank the traders and celebrity guests, the festival’s supporters and sponsors, and all the staff and volunteers for their hard work and efforts to make this weekend happen.”
