The Ilkley Food and Drink Festival will return to East Holmes Field for a celebration of international food, independent drink, live music, arts and charity.
After attracting a whopping 20,000 attendees to the quaint spa town of Ilkley over the past two years, organisers promise that this year's festival will be bigger and better than ever before.
Taking place from Saturday 11 - Sunday 12 June 2023, visitors can expect an impressive array of street food venders, bars, fine artisan markets, live cooking demos and a whole lot more.
Take a stroll through the idyllic green fields of East Holmes Field and be greeted with the smells and temptations of delicious food from all over the world.
Image: Ilkley Food and Drink Festival
After tucking into something yummy, why not put your feet up on one of the deck chairs whilst placing an order from one of the eight independent bars which will be quenching people's thirsts all weekend.
Fancy getting in on the action? The Ilkley Food and Drink Festival will be hosting a full Live Chef’s demo stage for the entire weekend. Working with Zest Charity & Leeds Cookery School, you can watch the region’s best chef’s rustle up a storm.
Image: Ilkley Food and Drink Festival
Each chef will be showcasing unique culinary expertise and focusing on a variety of different ingredients and cuisines from around the world.
Of course after being surrounded by such amazing food, you'll definitely want to take some goodies home with you and you can do so by browsing the fine artisan markets shacking up for the weekend. Showcasing some of the best independent producers from across the UK, tuck into a gooey brownie before sampling some cheese and taking your perfect match home with you.
Image: Ilkley Food and Drink Festival
And it doesn't stop there, across the weekend there will be live entertainment, music, children's entertainment and loads of activities to keep you occupied.
The festival's charity partner is Mind in Bradford who they have already raised over £65,000 for over the past two years. They'll be collecting donations through ticket sales as well as fun activities and competitions taking place over the weekend.
Early bird tickets are available now for just £6 each including booking fee, so if you're thinking of going then save yourself a few quid and book now via their website.
An award-winning burger chain is coming to one of Leeds' suburbs.
If you don't know Burgerism, then get to know.
The Manchester-based burger chain is known by many for its incredible smash patties and quick, reliable service.
Their concept is simple: good burgers made with quality ingredients and cooked fresh to order. Delicious.
And it's not just burgers, they've also got some great wings and fries available too with a range of homemade sauces on offer for dunking, drizzling and devouring. We're a particular fan of the buffalo wings with their garlic ranch dip.
The chain used to have a dark kitchen on the outskirts of the city where people could order via Deliveroo, however this closed down and since then there's been a Burgerism-shaped hole left in our foodie scene.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Burgerism recently applied to move into a vacant shop unit in Meanwood at 605 Meanwood Road, seeking change-of-use planning permission for the former Papa Johns site which was previously only allowed to serve...well, pizzas.
And the plans have now been approved, which means Burgerism will officially be coming to Leeds. Hurray!
Burgerism's new takeaway will be walking distance from the The Meanwood Tavern, perfect for those looking for some post-pint burgers.
It will be strictly takeaway with no dine-in option available.
The brand-new Burgerism will employ 15 people from the local area with food being served between 11am and 11pm.
We'll keep you up to date as and when we find out more, but for now we're aware that Burgerism Leeds is set to open this August.
New Sheffield pizzeria named one of the world’s best
Daisy Jackson
A Sheffield pizzeria has been named one of the world’s best in a prestigious global ranking.
Forbici, the restaurant where all pizzas are served with a pair of scissors, is the only northern pizzeria to be recognised at last week's Best Pizza Awards 2026.
The awards took place in Milan, and are said to be the Michelin equivalent of the pizza world.
Forbici was named as creating one of the world’s best pizzas, with its master chef recognised as one of the top pizza chefs in the world.
It’s one of just two UK pizzerias listed in the coveted top 100 this year.
Images: The Sheff
Forbici opened in Manchester back in 2024, and has since expanded across to lovely Sheffield on Millennium Square back in March.
It was also once named by Marco Pierre White as ‘the best pizza’ he’d ever had - quite an accolade.
Biga pizza dough at Forbici is slow-fermented to create a light, risen crust, before being topped with quality ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes and Italian produce.
It also has a lot of northern flavour, thanks to local specials like the Lancashire Hotpot – a pizza topped with crisps.
And all pizzas are served with scissors, inspired by the pizzerias of Naples, to be cut into quarters.
Master baker Davide Argentino is a fifth-generation baker from Napoli. While his family runs two bakeries on his behalf back home, Davide brings a true taste of authentic Neapolitan pizza to the UK.
Commenting on the recognition, Davide said: “It is a huge honour for Forbici to be recognised as one of the best pizzerias in the world.
“Baking has been in my family for five generations, so this is a really proud moment. In crafting Forbici’s signature dough we challenged convention pushing the fermentation process to the limit. Every bite reflects the patience, precision and expertise behind our approach.
“This recognition belongs to our entire team, whose passion, skill and commitment to the craft of pizza-making make Forbici what it is every day.”
Clementine Hall -
17th February 2023 
