TENS of thousands of people are expected to descend for a popular food festival in North Yorkshire.

Malton’s Food Lovers Festival returns with a packed schedule of chef demonstrations and talks, food and drink stalls and family-friendly entertainment over the Jubilee weekend.

Now in its thirteenth year, the three-day festival takes place from Friday, June 3.

Malton-based Yorkshire Baker, best known for its crafted pies and pastries, is sponsoring the main stage and working with Malton-based, The Cook’s Place, to run pop-ups.

The bakery’s innovation team will run hourly demonstrations from the Malton’s cookery school on Friday, June 3 and Sunday, June 5 from 11.30am and 2.30pm.

As headline sponsor, Yorkshire Baker will also join forces with Driffield business Colemans Cider, creators of Craft Yorkshire Cider, made with locally-grown apples.

Colemans Cider will be selling and sampling products from the Yorkshire Baker stall and supporting the pop-ups.

Colemans Cider Company won Yorkshire Baker’s Christmas competition to pitch a new idea to its innovation team.

Head of Innovation Paul Robinson has since turned their recipe pitch into a bite-sized treat which will be sampled free of charge at the festival stall: a slow roasted, pulled shoulder of outdoor bred pork, made with Colemans Yorkshire Cider and topped with a black pudding crumble.

Leah Mackereth, HR manager at Yorkshire Baker, said: “Malton Food Lovers Festival is a much-loved event in the foodie calendar and we’re so lucky to have the festival on our doorstep.

“We’re looking forward to sampling our delicious mini pies, created in partnership with Colemans Cider, both on our stand and during our pop-ups at the iconic The Cook’s Place.

"There will also be some fantastic opportunities for other businesses and visitors to submit a new pie recipe to our competition – the winning business will have the chance to collaborate with us at a future event."

Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka, created by Ellers Farm Distillery, in Stamford Bridge, will be the official spirit of the festival, offering samples.

Tom Naylor-Leyland, director of Visit Malton, said: “We are delighted to have two fantastic Yorkshire brands join us for the June instalment of the Malton Food Lovers Festival. Their generous support ensures the success of the event, which sees thousands of visitors flock to our wonderful town to sample the delights of our local businesses and stalls, as well as an action-packed main stage.”

The festival is free to attend. A designated Park & Ride service will be available at each entrance to Malton from the A64, with a regular shuttle bus service direct to the event entrance.

Visit Malton is run by the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate, and has organised a calendar of foodie events championing local produce and artisanal delicacies.