A MOUTH-WATERING array of delicious foods, cookery demonstrations by leading local chefs, arena displays, family attractions, music, rural skills and country pursuits are on the menu for visitors to this year’s Cotswold Show and Food Festival.

The two-day event on Saturday July 1 and Sunday July 2 is being held in the grounds of Cirencester Park, Gloucestershire.

Among the chefs displaying their culinary skills and knowledge this year are 2015 BBC MasterChef: Professional winner Mark Stinchcombe and his wife BBC Great British Menu contestant Sue, who run the kitchens at luxury country hotel and cookery school Eckington Manor.

Mark’s love of food began while he was still at school and he entered the kitchens of the acclaimed Royal Crescent in Bath, on work experience at only 16 years of age.

Mark met his future wife and co-chef, Sue, while at the Michelin star restaurant Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham. The pair now attract guests with their recipes developed using produce from Eckington Manor’s farm, orchard, vegetable and herb gardens.

Also attending is head chef of The Greenway Hotel and Spa, Shurdington, Cheltenham, Marcus McGuinness. His menus include starter dishes such as terrine of confit chicken & ham, I.P.A, pickled raisins and brioche; mains of poached & roasted hake, hispi cabbage, confit lemon & mussels and delicious desserts including passion fruit parfait, white chocolate & hazelnut.

Gareth Fulford - chef at family-run Purslane Restaurant, Cheltenham – will also be demonstrating his skills and knowledge. He was crowned Chef of the Year in the 2016 Taste of Gloucestershire Food and Farming Awards.

Pamela Chen-Moore, who runs an oriental cookery school at Prestbury, near Cheltenham, will be showing exactly how simple it is to prepare cook and serve Eastern food.

Born in Taiwan, Pamela moved to Gloucestershire almost 30 years ago after she met and married an Englishman. She started ChenMoore Chopsticks to share her knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for oriental food, and to show people of all ages that it really is one of the simplest and quickest cuisines to pick up.

Nick Deverell-Smith, who is the chef owner of the Churchill Arms, Paxford, Chipping Campden, is also in the line-up. The Great British Menu contestant has worked alongside some famous names in the restaurant world including Marco Pierre-White, Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Waring and Eric Chavot.

Wayne Sullivan, another MasterChef: Professional contestant, who runs the kitchen at the Old Stocks Inn, Stow-on-the Wold, will also be showcasing his culinary expertise.

He aims to keep things simple by using four or five core flavours in each dish rather than piling on a huge number of different flavours.

Others making an appearance at the show are Nik Chappell, chef at The Slaughters Manor House, Lower, Slaughter; David Witnall, chef at Jesse’s in Cirencester and David Kelman from the Old Swan and Mill Minster, Witney, Oxfordshire.

In addition there will be more than 50 producers offering a range of foods from cheese and cured meats to preserves and cakes. And there will be plenty of food to eat on the day.