York Food Festival to showcase international flavours

Festival director Michael Hjort said: "This year the Festival has a thoroughly International feel to it. The most important thing when cooking is to use great ingredients and we showing visitors that you can make fabulous tasty food from all around the world using ingredients from our own county." As well as the traditional Yorkshire suppliers, there will be Selma Khan from near York whose "Sizzle and Spice" stand will be cooking diverse South Asian and Middle Eastern dishes using Yorkshire produce. Selma said: "Sizzle and Spice offers an eclectic cuisine: sizzling meat dishes, rich and saucy vegetarian curries, fried spicy treats such as pakoras, samosas and falafels and tasty accompaniments such as pickles, raitas and dips. "Most of our raw ingredients come from local farmers and growers. Our meat is sourced from farms in the Ryedale area. Our vegetables are mainly organic from Pickering and Fadmoor. We aim to be fair trade where possible, mostly locally sourced and always delicious." Meanwhile demonstrations will be hosted by Mustafa Arslan, who will be cooking turkey dishes to eat in the market place, Azara Wilson, who will be devising authentic Indian dishes, and Sabai Sabai – a Thai cook from Wakefield. The Festival will also present a series of community events in its central location the Fountain Café, a marquee over the city's Parliament Street fountain. The first, on Friday 18th will be a meal of Ghanaian curries from the York Fanteakwa Community Link. Other world menus will include a 'New York' menu incorporating a a Jewish Sabbath dish, a Peruvian Food Evening, in association with Macmillan Cancer Support, featuring Yorkshire lamb, and a menu devised by local specialist Sharmini Thomas from Kerala. Details of these and other events taking place at this Year's York Food Festival can be found on www.yorkfoodfestival.com