Banbury Food Fair organised by Banbury Town Council Events, this annual event provided the perfect opportunity to taste, learn about and purchase some of the best food and drink as well as watching cooking demonstrations from some of the top chefs in the Town Hall.

The demonstrations started with Chef Anita Chipalkatty, a chef and culinary instructor with a mission to cook Indian food that satisfies your interest and curiosity whilst keeping it simple.

Next on stage was Andrew Scott the Executive Chef at Oxfordshire’s Restaurant 56 who gave demonstrations alongside his Sous Chef Nick Bennett who was a Masterchef Professionals Finalist in 2015.

Andrew has spent his entire career in Michelin-starred kitchens, training initially at Mallory Court, Lords of the Manor and L’Enclume then moving on to the Curlew restaurant in East Sussex. Scott, who hails from Banbury, marks a return back to his home county of Oxfordshire at Restaurant 56. “My cooking style is modern British with a twist of nostalgic memories, Restaurant 56 allows me to create and cook with no limitations”

At 1pm and 3pm Jean-Christophe Novelli took to the stage to entertain the crowds with his culinary skills. Jean-Christophe is a Michelin award and 5 out of 5 AA Rosette winning chef.
He cooked as well as talked about the nutritional side of eating, educating on salt, sugar and fat intakes.

Away from the demonstrations there was plenty of food and drink to be purchased and consumed from the many stalls in the market place. There was even spontaneous dancing in the Market Place thanks to the atmosphere created by the live bands.

This year’s event was at one point joined by the ‘Save the Horton’ protesters. There was a protest at 10.30am at the Horton Hospital, where thousands of protesters linked hands to form a complete human chain around the Hospital. At about 11.30, the protesters made their way to Bridge Street in front of the Town Hall for a photo shoot and to voice their objections to the downgrading of the hospital by Oxford University Hospitals.