Festivalgoers were enthralled by demonstrations by local chefs at Bolton Market.
Bolton Food and Drink Festival kicked off on Friday, as thousands of people are expected to hit the town to sample tastes from all over the world this weekend.
One of the popular features of the festival is its cooking demonstrations from local and celebrity chefs, with popular Bolton faces and famous ones showing off their skills to the appreciative crowds.
Bolton Market saw multiple demonstrations today, from celebrity chef Michael Caines to Bolton local Sushma Solanki of Sushma Snacks.
The final demo of the day was delivered by none other than Alain Job of Nkono in Bolton Market, who cooked cocoa bean and pistachio venison with Cameroonian rice puree.
Answering questions from the crowd and giving them a taste of his food at the end, Alain capped it off by breaking into song as he thanked the audience for coming.
Speaking after the demonstration, he said: "It was great, I think it was was well received by people. I didn't think there would be this many people on the last demo of the day.
"It is good to get a good start to the festival. If visitors are impressed with what they see on the Friday, they keep turning up.
A great moment from day one of @BoltonFoodFest yesterday as Alain Job of Nkono burst into song following his cooking demo at Bolton Market. Got a fair old voice! @TheBoltonNews pic.twitter.com/Py8mOBKYwR
— Zach Harrison (@zachhjourno) August 26, 2023
"It does give us a platform, we can make people part of a greater community in Bolton."
He said: "I went for a signature dish because it is the 18th anniversary of this beautiful festival.
"People don't always cook venison because it's quite expensive, and when smoked with cocoa beans it is extremely special.
"I'm also trying to get people to understand many ingredients on the market can be used to create these meals, such as the pistachios and the okra."
One Bolton resident who saw the demonstration said: "Yes, it was really good. I've only lived here for a year and it is my second food festival.
"It's nice, any local thing I come to because I only live down the road. The local ones are good.
"You can see by how many people are around when you walk around town, it has to be good for the place."
For more information about the Food and Drink Festival, visit this article: All you need to know about Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2023
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