North Leeds Food Festival returns with a 'jam-packed weekend' of food, music and entertainment for its fifth anniversary celebrations at Roundhay Park

It's been a rollercoaster of a year for festival organisers, but with Covid-19 restrictions now lifted North Leeds Food Festival can open its gates once more today at Roundhay Park.

This year celebrates their five year anniversary, and they've expanded the festival to include an even larger Artisan market and a wider range of street food for festival-goers.

The market on site now includes an expansive collection of independently run local stalls and businesses, selling an array of confectionery, charcuterie, crafts and spirits all weekend.

Of course at the heart of the festival is their mouth-watering street food, with a plethora of the most sought after traders from across the UK, including Leeds favourites Big Mouth Gyoza and Mans Market.

To quench your thirst, Soldiers Ale House are there to serve ice cold beer throughout the day, alongside a series of specialist bars serving exotic spirits to try over the course of the weekend.

But the festival doesn't stop at delicious food and drink; local musicians are taking to the stage from start till finish, as well as Leeds Cookery School providing live cooking sessions held by some of Yorkshire's best chefs, including Master Chef's Anthony O'Shaughnessy.

Speaking to festival organiser Michael Johnston, he said:

"It's such a relief that we're finally able to return to Roundhay Park for our fifth anniversary celebrations.

"The live events industry has suffered some horrific blows for the past year, and we really wanted to give the Leeds community something to look forward to.

"This is absolutely a highlight of the year for us- as a chance for everyone to come together and celebrate local businesses, chefs and musicians, we can't wait to be back."

Throughout the weekend, North Leeds Food Festival will also be raising money for Leeds mental health charity Mind.

The festival's chosen charity for five years in a row, Leeds Mind aims to enable people struggling with their mental health to flourish.

"We've been proud to support mental health charity Mind for the past 5 years - we believe the work they do is absolutely crucial, even more so after the past year has put such a strain on mental health services.

"We're incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated with us in previous years and helped us raise over £32,000, and we hope we can continue to support the Leeds Mind team long into the future."

North Leeds Food Festival starts at 10am today and finishes at 8pm on Sunday.

You can buy tickets for both days on the North Leeds Food Festival website.

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