A LINE up of top celebrity chefs is heading to North Yorkshire this weekend as part of a bid to encourage people not to waste food this Christmas.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Gary Rhodes, Rachel Allen, Ainsley Harriott, Anthony Worrall-Thompson, and James Martin will all be at the Love Cooking Festival at the Harrogate International Centre on Sunday.

Chefs will be cooking up recipes from leftover ingredients to produce interesting and exciting new meals as part of the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign to reduce the amount of food thrown away. The final event of the festival is called Love Cooking At Christmas and will see the celebrity chefs and wine guru Oz Clarke take centre stage.

James Martin, who hails from Malton, will be welcoming The Calendar Girls into his kitchen.

Christmas is one of the most wasteful times of year and so the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership and the regional Love Food, Hate Waste project have joined forces to bring the Deliciously Yorkshire Champion 2010 chef Stephanie Moon to the festival.

Stephanie will feature throughout the festival demonstrating how to use up those leftover ingredients brought for a festive feast by turning them into fresh and exciting dishes including turkey risotto, frittata, Yorkshire puddings with a twist, Christmas pudding truffles and mulled wine.

County Councillor Clare Wood, the chairman of the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership, said: “Using up those ingredients that we only purchase once a year isn’t always easy, but Stephanie has come up with a fantastic range of recipes to use all the turkey, vegetables and Christmas pudding that’s usually left over. “With support from partnership staff, residents can watch simple meal ideas being created and receive helpful hints and tips to stop the leftovers simply being thrown into the bin.”

More recipe suggestions, a party planner and a portion calculator can be found at lovefoodhatewaste.com

Love Cooking is taking place from 9.30am until 9.30pm with cookery sessions taking place at 10am, noon, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.

Tickets for each session are available from lovecookingfestival.com or Harrogate Box office on 0845 130 8840.