Porthleven Food Festival is keeping it local this year, welcoming a bumper crop of Cornwall’s very best to their 2022 Chefs’ Theatre that will be presented by Jude Kereama and sponsored by St Austell Brewery.

Festival patron Antony Worrall Thompson returns to kick off the demonstrations on Saturday, April 23 with his ever-popular cook off against Porthleven’s own Jude Kereama, owner of Kota and Kota Kai.

Jude has gathered the chefs together for this year’s show, taking over from his wife Jane, who sadly passed away just after the last food festival in 2019.

Jude said: “We had to cancel the festival at the last moment in 2020, so it’s an absolute joy to once again be welcoming some of the stars of Cornwall’s food scene to the stage here in Porthleven.

"It is definitely tinged with sadness for me, because it will be the first festival without Jane in charge of us all, but it’s also a cause for celebration that we’re finally able to hold the food festival again after a two year absence because of Covid.”

The festival itself will take place from Friday, April 22 until Sunday, April 24, with demonstrations taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday

Renowned restaurateur, chef and author Antony Worrall Thompson and Porthleven’s own celebrity chef and award-winner Jude Kereama will kick-off proceedings at 10am with their very popular cook-off demo.

Antony has been the Porthleven Food Festival patron since it began, visiting every year from his restaurants in London to join in the festivities and give Jude a Ready Steady Cook style challenge on stage.

Jude is chef patron of Kota and Kota Kai in Porthleven, and has also appeared on several series of the BBC’s Great British Menu. His classic seafood with a twist has earned Kota recognition in the form of 2 AA rosettes and a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Saturday will also feature Stewart Eddy and Bryok Williams from The Square in Porthleven, which has also gained multiple Michelin Bib Gourmands over the years, including in the latest edition of the Michelin Guide in 2021.

Mick Smith will hop across from the Porthminster Beach café in St Ives, where as head chef he has gained two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence in 2021. Then Stephane Delourme brings his love of seafood, especially dishes made with John Dory, to the stage from Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, where he’s head chef.

Hylton Espey is a new name on the Porthleven Food Festival stage, who’s opening a new restaurant, Culture, in Falmouth where he’ll be showcasing fresh, sustainable and locally sourced ingredients, keeping imports to a bare minimum. He’s followed by Dorian Janmaat, now executive head chef at The Idle Rocks (winner of Restaurant of the Year and Small Hotel of the Year at the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2022) in St Mawes, having returned to his home county of Cornwall in 2020 following an eight-year stint at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with Raymond Blanc.

Sunday

First up on Sunday is rising star Pete Almond, head chef at Kota where he works alongside Jude Kereama creating Asian-inspired cuisine that’s been awarded 3 AA Rosettes.

Guy Owen developed his culinary expertise with some of London’s leading chefs, including with Gordon Ramsay at his Michelin starred restaurant at Claridge’s. He’s now executive chef at the St Enodoc Hotel in Rock, and also recently represented the South West on the BBC’s Great British Menu programme. Michelin Bib Gourmand winner Ben Tunnicliffe will be driving down the coast from Newlyn where he runs his own kitchen at the Tolcarne Inn.

Another newcomer to the Porthleven Festival stage, Andrew Tuck, is known for his food pyrotechnics, cooking over an open fire, and heads up the kitchen at the award-winning St Kew Inn which won a place in Estrella dame’s top 50 gastro pubs this year at number 36.

Jeff Robinson visits from The New Yard Restaurant at Trelowarren and last but not least is Bruce Rennie, who has worked in kitchens including Gary Rhodes' restaurant Shanks and Martin Wishart’s before moving to Cornwall and running the show at The Gurnard's Head and Rick Stein's in Porthleven. He now owns his own restaurant, The Shore in Penzance.

The full 2022 Chef’s Theatre timetable is online at porthlevenfoodfestival.com

The festival, which is run by the community, is free to attend this year, with the committee saying they want to keep it accessible to those who can’t afford it.

They’re asking people who feel able to make a donation to donate at the event or on their Just Giving page, https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/porthlevenfoodfestival

The festival is a not-for-profit event and any profit will be donated back to local causes.