£1m windfall hope at Ludlow food festival

More than 20,000 people will descend on Ludlow for its biggest and best food festival – giving the town a £1 million windfall.

The event is planned for September 7th to 9th and organisers say there will be more events and activities than ever before.

The event will feature 180 exhibitors and venues across the town will be used for demonstrations, tastings and an exhibition of food photography.

Shropshire's only Michelin-starred restaurant, Mr Underhill's, which is based in Ludlow, will be to the fore at a book festival, which is taking place in conjunction with the event.

Mr Underhill's, which was named the UK's best restaurant less than two years ago, will launch its new book at the event.

The title, called The Cat, The Cook and The Cook's Assistant, will feature recipes and stories from the venue, which helped trigger Ludlow's gastronomic boom.

Phil Maile, chairman of the Ludlow Food and Drink Festival, said: "The principles of our Food Festival haven't changed in 18 years, namely to promote the food and drink of Ludlow and the Marches.

"Over the years we have worked hard to convey this message not just locally, regionally or nationally but internationally too; so we were delighted to win the Promoting Shropshire award at the Shropshire Business awards in June.

"Looking at the 2012 Festival, we have three new and exciting events; a food-themed book festival, a food photography exhibition and expertly-tutored wine tastings."

Mr Maile said people could also look forward to a number of events that featured each year, including demonstrations by top chefs, a Chefs' Table Restaurant and delicious food trail He added: "I do hope people enjoy the 2012 event."

More than 180 producers will be at the event and there will also be expert talks, debates and demonstrations on a wide variety of subjects.