FIRST there were purple peppers - and now we have purple soup.

The fruit, which look more like little aubergines, have been turned into a tasty appetiser by chefs at Meltons Restaurant.

Now staff at the Scarcroft Road eaterie are preparing a four-pepper soup - featuring red, yellow, green and purple peppers - to serve to diners tomorrow and Saturday evening as part of York's Festival Of Food & Drink.

Chef Michael Edmondson decided to make use of the fruits from his stepmum Christine Edmondson's Fulford garden, which were previously featured in The Press.

He said: "We roasted the peppers and created a soup with onions, garlic and seasoning, which will be a nice appetiser for everyone to try.

"The purple soup was not as purple as we expected - but it's something different and very tasty."

The festival continues today with demonstration of how to grow garlic in St Sampson's Square, a medieval mutton lunch in Bedern Hall, and a GNER Chef Of The Year competition at the Guildhall.

Tomorrow, chef Jenny Cook will be serving up a selection of dim sum for people to enjoy a light lunch at the Guildhall between 1pm and 2.30pm.

The small pastry snacks, which are either steamed or fried, are filled with food such as barbecued pork, king prawn, chicken, squid and vegetables.

Jenny, who originates from Malaysia, said: "The little snacks are traditionally served for breakfast and are a great thing to share while having a chat with friends. We're doing them as a light lunch with a glass of wine and noodles to give people a chance to try them out.

"We serve them at Maxi's Restaurant in Poppleton and people really love them."

Other events tomorrow include oil and vinegar tasting at Henshelwoods Delicatessen, Rosemary Shrager cooking for the homeless, black pudding tasting at Meltons Too and wine tasting at the Guildhall in the evening.

Taste of Africa

VISITORS to the festival enjoyed a real taste of Africa.

The special Kenyan dessert, created by Martin Ochieng, of the Monkbar Hotel, was served up at a Port And Pudding event at the Guildhall.

The self-designed Taste Of Africa dish featured an enormous wine glass filled with a tiramisu-style sweet.

It was layered with Kenyan coffee sponge and a pale chocolate mousse flavoured with Amarula, the liqueur from the Marula tree.