Rhubarb Festival, Wakefield

Rhubarb Festival, Wakefield - 22/04/2011

The festival celebrates the traditional links with rhubarb growing in Wakefield, while offering the finest and tastiest regional produce and showcasing the most talented local chefs.

Wakefield’s famous rhubarb has joined the hallowed ranks of Europe’s protected foods. Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb has been elevated to the same status as Champagne and Parma Ham.

The festival included street entertainment and cookery demonstrations. Wakefield council asked Murdo MacLeod to lead a highly interactive cocktail training session in the main marquee in the centre of Wakefield over two days to audiences of over 200 people at a time. With a live feed to a major outdoor screen in the city square, people outside were also entertained.

The sessions showcased cocktails all made with rhubarb as the key fruit ingredient and after each cocktail was demonstrated members of the public took to the stage to have a go themselves. An overall winner was chosen for each session with prizes awarded for public participation.