In celebration of the week of love, Thame Food Festival has announced their line-up for The Big Cookery Stage. Headlining over the weekend of the 30th September and 1st October will be Gennaro Contaldo known as one of the UK’s most loved chefs and the Italian legend who taught Jamie Oliver all he knows about Italian cooking. He will be joined by the winner of the 2022 Great British Bake-Off – Syabria Yusoff.
Gennaro is well known for appearing alongside Jamie Oliver, while also appearing on his own YouTube channel and as a frequent guest on ‘Saturday Kitchen’, he has also written over 12 books. His latest ‘Gennaro’s Cucina: Hearty money-saving meals from an Italian Kitchen’ will be published in February 2023. He will be sharing his passion for food on the Big Cookery Stage on the Saturday.
Then the Sunday will see Syabria, who frequently surprised and delighted Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith during the Great British Bake Off in 2022 with her unusual flavour combinations and imaginative bakes. She may only have started baking in 2017, but she soon discovered a talent for baking giving a Malaysian twist to British classics. Alongside her will be David Atherton who won the Great British Bake Off in 2019, despite never having won a Star Baker in any of the previous episodes. David is passionate about sharing his love of food with the younger generation and has written several kids cooking books, but he is also keen to get involved with the kids cooking sessions that are run at the festival too.
Lotte Duncan, patron and festival organiser says; “Gennaro has been one of the chefs, we have been so keen to have join us at Thame Food Festival, but his busy diary has always meant it clashed with something else he has going on. So, I am delighted that for 2023 we are actually going to make it happen. He is so passionate about food and sharing that love of food that his session on the main stage is sure to be a foodie delight.”
She continues, “This will be alongside Syabria, who is another first for the festival. Her take on bringing Malaysian flavour combinations to the world of baking earnt her several Star Baker accolades. So, we are absolutely delighted that she is going to be joining us on the Sunday to share her love of food. Then David too, who is passionate about encouraging children to enjoy cooking, which is why we are currently plotting to hopefully get him involved in the kid’s fun kitchen activities too.”
Tying in with the headline being announced, Lotte has Gennaro Contaldo as a very special guest on her Truly Scrumptious podcast. With the Italian’s being renowned for their passion the latest podcast going live on the 10th February features Gennaro and also the Cornish Italian too. The podcast is known for sharing everything that goes on to create a food festival, bringing to life the backstage gossip, tips and tricks from the chefs, bakers and more. It can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcast, among other platforms.
