Food and drink feast at Ripon Cathedral

The Food and Drink Festival will be held in the grounds of the Cathedral on Friday April 29 and Saturday 30 as part of Ripon Cathedral Revealed, a five-day celebration of flowers, music, spirituality, food and drink.

More than 20 businesses will be showcasing their products including Davill’s Bakery of Ripon, Old Sleningford Preserves, Brown and Blond, who make and deliver homemade brownies, and Bib and Tucker who recently opened a café in the Arcade in Ripon.

Owner Ian Kendrew, who also has two cafes in Harrogate, approached the cathedral about getting involved. Bib and Tucker will be selling hot burritos and street food during the festival and will also provide the canapés for a Jazz Preview Evening that launches the festival on Thursday evening April 28.

At the Food Festival there will also be a plant stall which will be selling plants, cuttings and vegetables which have been donated by local businesses and individuals who have an interest in gardening.

The preview evening will feature music from the Richmond Jam Jazz Band and a talk by Martin Fish, the writer and television and radio presenter who was formerly the director of the Harrogate Flower Show and a past president of the North of England Horticultural Society.

Guests will also see the first showing of a specially commissioned video, a Year in the Life of the Cathedral, which will cover highlights of the past year and give behind the scenes insights into how its people engage with the wider community. There will also be an opportunity to see ancient manuscripts normally held at the Brotherton Library.

The five-day festival will include a pop-up cathedral café, musical recitals, concerts, live readings from the Bible, a Festival Songs of Praise, more than 20 floral displays, embroidery workshops, displays of ceramic pottery and much more before it closes on Bank Holiday Monday May 2 with the traditional annual Beer Festival in the Deer Park.

A full programme of events and tickets for Ripon Cathedral Revealed are now on sale on line at www.riponcathedral.info/revealed/ Tickets are from £5.