Dubbed the Glastonbury of food festivals, the market town of Malton is set to host a Food Lovers Fest to kick off 2022.
Due to overwhelming public demand, there will be two Food Lovers Festival this year, rather than the usual one.
Set across the quaint streets of Malton, known as Yorkshire’s Food Capital, the flavoursome feast will welcome visitors from across the country to celebrate the finest produce from Yorkshire and beyond.
Home to plenty of artisan producers and award-winning independent businesses, visitors to the Malton Food Lovers Festivals will not be disappointed.
This year, expect a huge array of unique stalls with tasty treats and gorgeous gifts, celebrity chef talks and demonstrations, live music and fun for all the family. The exact line-up is yet to be announced, but across the six day event, visitors can expect only the best of home-grown goods to be in attendance.
Doubling the servings, the Malton Food Lovers Festivals will be sandwiching the summer with two events: first at the very beginning of summer, across the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, Friday 3- Sunday 5 June 2022), and again across the August Bank Holiday weekend, Saturday 27 - Monday 29 August 2022, during that final weekend of sunshine before autumn arrives in Yorkshire.
The 2021 event was the first three-day Food Lovers Festival since Malton's festival beginnings over a decade ago. Both 2022 events will take place over three days thanks to the support that last year's festival received.
Image: Visit Malton
Benoit Blin, Master Pâtissier and judge from Channel 4’s Bake Off: The Professionals, who headlined the Main Stage of last year’s festival, commented: “Malton is a lovely place to be. It’s so nice to see people being able to come out and enjoy some street food and the atmosphere once again. I’m sure I’ll be back; it’s a fantastic place!”
If you can't wait until June to visit the foodie capital, the first Monthly Food Market of the year will take place this weekend on Saturday 12 March in Malton, which will then take place every second Saturday of the month.
Stallholders can now register their interest in attending the Food Lovers Festival on the Visit Malton website.
The Food Lovers Festival is free to attend, and a Park and Ride is available at each entrance to Malton from the A64, with a free shuttle bus service to the event.
Feature Image- Visit Malton
Business
Global interactive action game Prison Island to open first northern venue in Leeds
Leeds is set to welcome an exciting new addition to the city’s interactive gaming scene, as Prison Island prepares to open its first northern venue.
The new multi-activity entertainment venue at the Merrion Centre will make itself at home inside an 11,000 sq ft unit across two floors, with Prison Island being at the heart of the action.
Prison Island is an immersive team challenge that sees players in teams of up to five tackle a series of themed cells designed to test physical ability, skill, teamwork, and problem-solving, and unlike a traditional escape room, teams can take on a variety of challenges that enable them to create a different experience with every visit.
The internationally established concept will also offer a range of additional competitive experiences - including interactive darts and interactive golf.
Leeds will join a global network of more than 110 Prison Island locations, and will become the concept’s fourth venue in the UK and first venue in the North of England - joining existing locations in Belfast, Maidstone, and Camden.
Credit: SuppliedCredit: Supplied
Prison Island Leeds - which will create 18 jobs once it opens - will be operated by the team behind the hugely successful Belfast venue, which opened seven years ago and has established itself as one of Northern Ireland’s leading attractions.
Suitable for groups of friends and families, as well as celebrations, corporate events, and team-building activities, the venue is joining the Merrion Centre and wider Arena Quarter’s growing leisure and entertainment offer.
Ryan Lyttle, director of Prison Island Leeds, said: "We’re most looking forward to finally bringing the Prison Island experience to Leeds. We’ve seen how well the concept works in Belfast, particularly because it appeals to such a broad audience and every visit can be completely different.
Global interactive action game Prison Island to open first northern venue in Leeds / Credit: Supplied
"With Prison Island alongside a range of additional activities, we’re excited to create a venue where people can come together, compete, have fun and discover something they haven’t experienced before."
Prison Island Leeds is expected to be open in time for Christmas, with the team promising special plans to mark its arrival in the city, although details are being kept firmly under wraps for now.
Further information on the opening, including launch plans, will be announced in due course.
Featured Image - Supplied
Business
Government to investigate companies like Trainline and Virgin Atlantic for ‘misleading’ pricing
Emily Sergeant
The Government is investigating a number of companies for 'misleading' pricing practices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched three new consumer protection investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School over concerns that customers were not shown the total price upfront when buying things like train and coach tickets, holidays, or even driving lessons.
The investigations are part of a wider CMA clampdown on misleading pricing practices - in this instance, where mandatory charges are separated from the headline price, or added later in the buying process, which is known as drip pricing.
These practices leave consumers facing 'unexpected' costs or having to calculate the so-called true cost themselves.
Such practices can also impact competition between businesses, as a firm using drip pricing may falsely appear to be cheaper than a competitor pricing correctly, and therefore attract more customers.
Trainline is being investigated over whether all mandatory fees have been included in the upfront prices displayed to consumers buying tickets in advance on its app and website, while Virgin Atlantic's investigation will focus on whether mandatory resort fees and local taxes have been included in the upfront prices shown to customers buying package holidays.
Trainline and Virgin Atlantic are among the companies being investigated for 'misleading' pricing / Credit: Northern | Aric Cheng (via Unsplash)
RED Driving School is being investigated over how a mandatory booking fee and 'digital' fee have been displayed to people booking driving lessons - specifically whether these fees have been included in the total upfront price.
"At a time when many households are watching every pound they spend, it is important that people are not surprised by extra fees," commented Emma Cochrane, who is the Executive Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA.
"Clear pricing helps people compare offers confidently and choose the option that works best for them.
"Unexpected mandatory charges make this much harder, which is why the CMA initially put these firms on notice over concerns about their pricing practices and is now opening formal investigations."
The CMA says it's at the beginning of its investigations and has reached no conclusions about whether these firms have broken the law.
If it finds there has been an infringement of the law, the CMA can order businesses to pay compensation to affected customers or be charged up to 10% of global turnover.
Sophie Smith -
10th March 2022 
