Dine with the Stars and Lancashire Market, Saturday 30th July

The city centre’s annual campaign promoting restaurants in Preston is back for 2016.

Love Food Love Preston, a campaign from Preston’s Business Improvement District (BID), will showcase the city’s best places to eat and promote Preston’s vibrant and growing food scene.

The month-long event launches on Saturday 30^th July with two headline events, the Lancashire Market and Dine with the Stars.

The Lancashire Market, a firm fixture in the city’s events calendar, will take over Friargate from 10am – 5pm, bringing the hustle and bustle of a street-market focusing on artisan produce, street food, crafts and gifts.

That evening between 7.00pm and 10.00pm, the Love Food Love Preston campaign will officially begin by offering patrons at Preston’s restaurants the chance to ‘Dine with the Stars’.  The event, which began back in 2014, has seen TV chefs and stars of stage and screen visit restaurants to have dinner with customers.

The names confirmed for this year’s event are the co-presenter of BBC1’s MasterChef, Gregg Wallace and award-winning Emmerdale actor Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy).

Richard Simkin from the Guild Hall, operators of the new ‘Villa Italian’ restaurant said: “Love Food Love Preston is an important campaign for the hospitality sector; it creates  excitement and gets people talking about the city’s outstanding food offer.  Having the chance to have dinner with a celebrity is something quite extraordinary; many customers still talk about the event from last year, to this day.  We are thrilled that Gregg, a renowned foodie will be coming to town this year, along with Danny, a very popular actor, to support the city’s restaurants and eateries”.

Mark Whittle of Preston BID said: “Preston city centre’s culinary offer one to be proud of, there really is an abundance of quality, coupled with great service and value.  Love Food Love Preston is a unique campaign to highlight our dining scene and share it with as many people as possible.  We’re incredibly excited that one of the country’s most famous culinary characters is going to join us for Dine with the Stars, along which a hugely popular actor; we look forward to them visiting Preston and enjoying the city’s best places to eat’.

Gregg Wallace said: “It’s the 4^th year Preston BID have arranged the “Love Food Love Preston” event and it is an honour to have been invited along to take part.  With a month-long event like this, it really does put Preston firmly on the UK food map. I am really looking forward to sampling some fabulous food with Danny Miller on Saturday 30^th July”.

To be in with a chance of having dinner with Gregg Wallace or Danny Miller on the evening of July 30th, simply make a reservation in one of the restaurants listed; Gregg or Danny could then join you for dinner!

Love Food Love Preston runs throughout August and offers customers the chance to eat out, for less.  A selection of exclusive £10 and £15 menus will be available via the Love Food Love Preston website, from Saturday 30^th July.