Cheshire Oaks Food & Drink Festival is returning this year, with top TV chefs Simon Rimmer and Stacie Stewart headlining the event, which takes place at the shopping centre over the weekend of 31 May and 1 June.

The event in partnership with Taste Cheshire will see the chefs’ host 15 minute cookery sessions every hour from 11.30am to 3.30pm, to demonstrate how shoppers can create delicious home-cooked delights.

Merseyside’s own Simon Rimmer will take the stage on Saturday, taking time away from his role presenting Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’, to demonstrate morsels from his two Manchester restaurants while Stacie Stewart, a ‘This Morning’ regular and star judge on Simon Cowell’s ‘Food Glorious Food’, will lead the show on Sunday with treats from famed Beehive Bakery.

Simon Rimmer, says: “The North West has such a fantastic offer of home-grown produce and the Cheshire Oaks Food and Drink Festival is a great celebration to get everyone involved in learning new ways of bringing these ingredients to life. I love to make creative yet comforting food in my restaurants and am really looking forward to seeing what the stalls have on offer.”

In between demonstrations, visitors will be able to taste local delicacies from the 18 stalls which will be located throughout the malls selling a variety of local artisan products from pies, sausages and chutneys to cakes, fudge and other sweet treats.

Homeware brands and restaurants across the centre including Le Creuset, ProCook, Cafe Rouge and Pizza Express will also be hosting promotions over the weekend.

Jennifer Wilson, marketing manager at McArthurGlen Cheshire Oaks, says: “The Cheshire Oaks Food and Drink Festival is always a great event and this year we’re bringing it back bigger and better than ever. The theatre that our celebrity chefs create and the mouth-watering recipes that they cook up will make for a fantastic weekend. We also have some new additions to our catering offer in the pipeline this year including Yo Sushi, Giraffe and The Food & Wine Emporium, so we’re thrilled to be making the centre an ever better place for visitors to shop and relax.”