Liverpool Food and Drink Festival

More than sixty of the city’s top bars and restaurants will descend on Sefton Park in Liverpool this weekend for the launch of the annual Liverpool Food and Drink Festival.

Big brands such as Il Forno and Sapporo, Delifonseca, London Carriageworks, 60 Hope Street, Panoramic and Blakes at Hard Days Night Hotel will be tantalising the taste buds of thousands of visitors this Sunday, September 13, with an array of mouth-watering dishes and delicious drinks for the festival’s official launch.

From 10.30am to 5.00pm, ‘foodies’ will be able to enjoy live music, hourly cooking demonstrations from some of Liverpool’s most talented chefs, including Radio City DJ Simon Ross, beer tents and a children’s play area.

Sponsors for this year’s event include SK Events, the festival’s organisers, Duke Street eateries Il Forno and Sapporo, The Mersey Partnership, Liverpool One, Love Food Hate Waste and Internet marketing and design consultants Ph Creative.

Denise Harris from SK Events said: “The success of last year’s festival helped us to create an impressive list of sponsors and supporters for 2009’s event and I think this magnifies the fact that Liverpool has become such a fantastic restaurant and bar hot spot.

“The food and drink offer in this city has developed dramatically over the past ten years and there is now a vast selection of food and drink offers for all tastes and aspirations.”

Following the festival’s launch event, which is expected to attract double the attendance figures of last year, restaurants and bars from around the city will host some fantastic special events and offers for diners the following week.

On Monday September 14th, the theme is £15 per head, making the fantastic food and drink on offer across the city accessible to all. Tuesday is Chocolate and Cheese, where participating venues will offer up one treat or another to tempt diners and Wednesday offers the chance to enjoy all the best of the festival at half price. Thursday is the chance to see the bets that Merseyside has to offer, with Organic and Locally Sourced day. Friday is Fish, Saturday Let’s Lunch and on Sunday, there is another great day out for all of the family courtesy of the Hope Street Festival, where local and regional producers will be selling their wares to the hungry public.

However this year, there is an exciting additional element to the festival in the form of its own awards night. On Monday, September 21, hundreds of staff who work in the city’s expanding food and drink sector will come together to celebrate the restaurateurs and bar proprietors that took part in the annual event.

Bill Doherty, Business Development and Marketing Director for leading law firm Hill Dickinson, who are sponsoring the awards with Blackwater Bars, said: “We are delighted to sponsor the awards in a festival that reinforces Liverpool as one of the pre-eminent culinary cities of the UK. In showcasing the city’s exceptional restaurants and bars, these awards certainly celebrate Liverpool’s outstanding food and drink scene.”

All categories and nominations for the awards are listed via Liverpool Food and Drink Festival’s official website, where organisers are urging people around the city to cast their vote.

Everyone who nominates towards this year’s awards will be entered into a prize draw to win a night’s stay in The Hard Days Night Hotel, a meal for two at 60 Hope Street, or a hamper from Delifonseca.

For more information visit:  www.liverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk