Culinary stars from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have been booked to appear at this Easter’s Chester Food, Drink and Lifestyle Festival.

Chris Bavin, star of Eat Well for Less and soon to be seen on our screens with Mary Berry in the BBC’s newest cooking show, will be appearing on Saturday, March 31.

The following day sees former Ready Steady Cook star Paul Rankin on the stage.

Apart from thrilling audiences with his ad hoc recipes and fun approach to cooking, Paul was the first to be awarded a Michelin Star in Ireland for his world famous Dublin-based, Roscoff Restaurant. 

On Monday, the festival – which is being held for the 18th year at Chester Racecourse – will welcome Jun Tanaka.

Jun’s runs a Michelin-starred restaurant in London, The Ninth, and is a regular on Saturday Kitchen, UKTV’s Market Kitchen and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. He has also appeared on various other shows such as Masterchef, Michel Roux Jr’s Food & Drink, and Food Network US’s Chopped, where he won the title of Chopped Grand Champion in 2013.

Festival organiser Briony Wilson said: “We have always prided ourselves on the big names we have been able to attract to Chester and this year is no exception. I know that festival goers will love the stories, the cooking and the sheer entertainment that our stars and our local chefs provide. We are really excited about this year’s line-up and I can’t wait to meet them all.

On each day, the festival’s headline chefs are joined by local talent from Cheshire restaurants. Carl Noller from the Yard, Darren Lea from the Faulkner, Craig Wainwright of the White Horse and Daniel Speak from Restaurant 1539 will all be in attendance this year. 

The festival runs from March 31 until April 2, with online tickets priced £6 for adults. Children under 12 get in free.

All the cooking demonstrations are free to attend as are the adult cooking classes, the BBQ masterclasses and kids cooking classes.

For more information go to www.chesterfoodanddrink.co.uk.