Family set for friendly competition at Cannon Hall Farm Food Festival

A food-loving family will be competing head-to-head in a cookery challenge in front of thousands of people at Yorkshire's favourite family farm.
Roger, Richard, Katie and Robert Nicholson.Roger, Richard, Katie and Robert Nicholson.
Roger, Richard, Katie and Robert Nicholson.

The Nicholson family - who opened up Cannon Hall Farm to the public in the late 1980s - will be hosting the Cannon Hall Farm Food Festival over the August Bank Holiday Weekend (August 24 to 27).

And, this year, they will be facing a public challenge as they perform a cook off to decide once and for all who is the best cook.

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Roger Nicholson and eldest son Richard will take on Robert Nicholson and his daughter Katie in the cook off challenge that will be done live in the demo theatre.

Robert, a farm director who recently starred on Channel Five’s Springtime on the Farm TV show, said: “It’s a little bit daunting as if something goes wrong there isn’t really any coming back from it.

"But we do have some lovely people follow us at the farm and we’re looking forward to seeing the support they give us on the day

“As a family we’ve always been really passionate about food and we hope we do everyone proud."

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The event - which is free to enter - will welcome over 100 artisan food vendors showcasing their wares, plus live music, a fun fair and a beach.

The packed agenda for the event includes a daily sequence of cookery demos - hosted by TV personality Christa Ackroyd.

The four-day event will be a celebration of gastronomic delights and will feature chefs like Razan Alsous from Yorkshire Halloumi, and Tim Bilton, a former contender on the Great British Menu.

The Nicholsons opened their family farm up to the public in the late 1980s after it had been threatened with closure. They realised it had to diversify and the farm that couldn’t even support one wage now has 200 members of staff.

They have won plenty of awards recently - including the Taste of Yorkshire title from the Welcome to Yorkshire Awards.