Festival of adventures in food and drink at EAT! NewcastleGateshead
Named as one of most refreshing and innovative food festivals in the UK, EAT! NewcastleGateshead (www.eatnewcastlegateshead.com) celebrates its seventh year in 2013 with another programme of eclectic foodie events in NewcastleGateshead from Saturday 24 August – Sunday 8 September.
Produced by NewcastleGateshead Initiative, this year’s EAT! festival includes: Naked Feasts, which celebrates a new generation of young chefs who have been inspired to cook by positive celebrity chef role models. Plucked from their kitchens, a group of up-and-coming chefs will cook spectacular meals in some unusual and dramatic outdoor locations.
EAT!’s, The Speakeasy & Salon, will pop-up in a secret NewcastleGateshead location to serve up four days of foodie masterclasses, demonstrations, workshops and screenings led by the North East’s best chefs, artisans, experts, sommeliers and mixologists.
Due to popular demand, EAT! NewcastleGateshead’s Cake City will return in 2013. Teams of amateur and professional bakers from across the North East and beyond, will fashion 100 landmark buildings in NewcastleGateshead out of cake to create a giant edible map. Previous creations include The Sage Gateshead, Glastonbury Festival and the Olympic Stadium.
EAT! festival spills into the streets of NewcastleGateshead for The Big EAT! Weekend (Thursday 5 – Sunday 8 September). The Food Heroes Gold Awards celebrate the very best of the North East’s food producers and special EAT! pub walking tours uncover the region’s burgeoning local ale scene.
Another exciting addition to this year’s Big EAT! Weekend is EAT! Street and The Boiler Shop Steamer. This brand new event features a new take on local street food; chilli, chocolate, cider and seafood zones; 25 local beers; music and cinema all housed in the iconic former locomotive works of Robert Stephenson.
EAT! NewcastleGateshead also includes the Future Chef competition, Eat-Along Movies and Stories, Kids Cook School, FOUND Foraging and Fishing events, and a full Festival Fringe programme.
In keeping with EAT’s reputation for creating innovative dining experiences, ART! NewcastleGateshead, a crowd sourced art dining experience, will be launched during the festival.
Simon Preston, festival director of EAT! NewcastleGateshead said: “Over the past seven years the number of events and experiences at EAT! has exploded, our ambition has always been to make this festival the most exciting and adventurous in the country.
“EAT! is all about discovering the ways everyone can improve their lives by understanding, cooking and sharing good local food. It’s always lots of fun too. There’s so much amazing talent in the North East food and drink industry and EAT! aims to give the best a chance to shine.”
Full details of this year’s festival are available online at www.eatnewcastlegateshead.com
-ENDS-
For further information, interview requests, images etc, please contact David Brookbanks, Media & PR Manager for NewcastleGateshead Initiative on 0191 440 5740 / 07946 581 417 or email david.brookbanks@ngi.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITOR
- EAT! NewcastleGateshead is developed and produced by NewcastleGateshead Initiative as part of its festivals and events programme.
- EAT! is funded by Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council. For further details see www.eatnewcastlegateshead.com
- Simon Preston, Festival Director of EAT! NewcastleGateshead, is a freelance food consultant. For further details see www.graceonline.co.uk