Carnival Timings | Harrogate International Festivals

Theatre of Food

Curated by Yorkshire Celebrity TV Chef Stephanie MoonOriginally from Poland, Pawel has worked in England for the last 14 years, having been a chef for nearly 20 years.
Pawel joined West Park as Head Chef in April 2016 and has recently been working with new group chef for Provenance Inns & Hotels, Jason Wardill. They have both created a new Summer menu with modern British dishes with a few twists.
The West Park Hotel is just situated on West Park, at the top of Parliament Street and is open all day for Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Pawel and Jason will be cooking a traditional Pierogi with a West Park twist: Harrogate blue, butternut & spinach dumpling, bacon crumbs, butternut foam.Samira began her career in Huddersfield, where she is from. She has since worked up and down the country, working in Michelin accoladed restaurants and hotels and has now returned to Yorkshire working as a Senior Production Chef at TRUEfoods.

Of Iranian and Nigerian descent, Samira loves to cook big, bold flavours and will be cooking an Iranian inspired fish dish with smoked aubergine and saffron sauce.Indian cuisine: re-invented! Kevin Fernandez, director of Rafi’s Spicebox is introducing new ways of thinking and new ways of eating. Forget rich, oily dishes and be inspired by fragrant, colourful combinations. Refresh your meals with honest, handmade and healthy food!

Kevin Fernandez will be using fresh & local seasonal produce to create some deliciously simple & vibrant dishes using Rafi’s Spicebox handmade spice blends.

Kevin cooks up a fest of Fish Patia, Mattar Paneer, Kachoombar – Salad and Gujarati Dhal.

Almost 30 years in the kitchen has given Head Chef and owner of The Round Table Dining, Whaheed, a culinary career so deep and varied that even he sometimes cannot believe it!

From the restaurant kitchens of South Africa, to the galleys of the Queen Mary II (and everything in between), he has cooked for many well-known political figures like Nelson Mandela, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, rock stars, even a James Bond and other celebrities, and continues to deliver top-notch dining experiences here in Harrogate.

In 2016 and 2017 he was a finalist for Harrogate Chef of the Year, but also holds numerous awards for his skilful cooking. The Round Table Dining has started an annual tradition of his ‘pop-up kitchen’ – a once-off opportunity for people to come together in a comfortable yet festive location, to enjoy an amazing multiple course meal thoughtfully paired with carefully selected fine wines by Whaheed himself.

With a passion for travel, Whaheed ties this in with his cooking, seeking out places where he can learn authentic, traditional recipes from locals around the globe whether it be South East Asia, Africa, India, America, Mediterranean etc or wherever food is served- As he believes – ‘Knowledge is Power’. Bringing this knowledge and inspiration back to Harrogate, he creates unique, bespoke menus for all his clients, with no two menus being alike.

Whaheed cooks a dish from the Capetown Carnival season and this chicken dish takes him back to his childhood when his Mother used to cook it for him.Mehdi is from a small village called Briatexte near Toulouse in France where he grew up with his family. With Algerian roots, his mum would make traditional dishes with lamb, spice, tagine and couscous – a style which Mehdi brings to the Fodder kitchen to complement the Yorkshire dishes. Mehdi learned to cook as a teenager at school before leaving France to work in England at 18 to learn English and develop his culinary skills. He went on to work in kitchens across Europe including Denmark, Czech Republic and Italy where he cooked for eight presidents at the G8 summit in Genoa, including President Chirac, PM Tony Blair and President Bush. Mehdi joined Fodder shortly after it opened in 2009 and his wholesome cooking, using fresh Yorkshire produce is what our café customers have come to know and love. In 2016 he took part in the BBC series Masterchef the Professionals.

Mehdi is delighted to come to the Valley Gardens ready for his demo at 3pm on Saturday 27th July.

He will demonstrate:-

Rack of Lamb with a Mustard Herb Crust
Dauphinoise Potatoes made with Harrogate Blue

He says rack of lamb done this way is very French and the dauphinoise potatoes – also super French – have been Yorkshire-fied with Harrogate Blue Cheese. kenneth Kenneth’s career started in 1978 in the frantic and demanding environment of high level eateries in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1991 he was recruited from the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong to the iconic Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane; which was about to reopen after a multi million pound refurbishment. The Dorchester relaunched with the brand restaurant called the Oriental in 1992. In 1993 the Oriental was one of the first Oriental restaurants to gain a Michelin star in Europe. He has now been heading the team at the Orchid Restsurant since 2005, offering Pacific Rim creations and gaining a reputation for great food and offering a unique dining experience. His talent lies in creating truly Oriental dishes in a modern style that are great for sharing. He strives to constantly think of new dishes and ideas that will wow his customers, especially when it comes to his monthly specials.

Kenneth Poon lives in Harrogate and will continue to deliver exceptional food for his customers for years to come. Fabrice

After being trained as a Pastry in the Loire valley in France, Fabrice obtained his Brevet de Maitrise in Patisserie confiserie and chocolaterie (Degree in Patisserie).

In 1997 Fabrice moved to the UK and has worked in a variety of establishments; from Michelin star restaurants to a conference centre and bakery-patisserie. Fabrice was Head pastry chef in a restaurant in Leeds for 10 years before moving to education in 2008 and he is Programme Manager for Craft and Innovation within the Food and Drink department at Leeds City College where he looks after all aspects of the Catering, from chefs to bakers.

In 2017, along with a colleague and one of their students Fabrice competed in the “Bake off- Crème de la creme” competition (BBC2), reaching the quarter final.

Fabrice now works closely with local chefs and employers to ensure the development of his students ensuring that they are work-ready at the end of their course.

Fabrice has a passion for all food related subjects as well as teaching, with his personal preference still being towards Artisan bread and chocolate.

Global Music Stage

DJ Trev has been a staple of the Harrogate club scene for many years, and knows perhaps better than anyone how to get the Harrogate party started. Despite DJ-ing widely across the UK, DJ Trev has always been a big supporter of local events, having previously being involved with Harrogate International Festivals both for the Fringe Crawl Day and Jimmy’s Night.In New Orleans, they celebrate in style. Second Lining is a quintessential New Orleans art form: following the band to enjoy the music, marching and dancing, twirling parasols and waving handkerchiefs. It is a full on street intervention. If you’re lucky enough to be caught up in the commotion, you’re part of the Second Line.

Mr. Wilson’s Second Liners are revolutionary genre-bashers who knock traditional Second Lining sideways, opting for upbeat dance tracks over traditional hymns. Hot-stepping out in uniformed style, they channel the spirit of the 24-hour party people, guaranteed to get audiences dancing wherever they play.

They’re an anarchic extravaganza, bursting with colour and sound, rallying impromptu raves on street corners and rousing audiences young and old into a joyful frenzy. Expending their collective musical talent, they pay homage to the diehard days of the Hacienda, 90s club culture and its greatest hero, Mr. Tony Wilson.Têtes de Pois is a seven-piece instrumental band based in Leeds, performing exciting original music influenced by genres including jazz, hip-hop and afro-beat. The band formed in 2016 at the Leeds College of Music, where they met while studying on the Jazz course; they soon began gigging around Leeds through the independent Leeds based music collective, ‘Tight Lines’. Soon enough, Têtes de Pois started to attract attention and were lucky enough to support London bands Sumochief and Ezra Collective. Since then they have headlined the Hootenanny and the 100 Club, and in the Summer of 2017, they performed at some of the countries most renowned Jazz festivals, including Manchester Jazz Festival Love Supreme Festival. The band recently released their latest track entitled ‘Cut to the Chase’, which can be found of Soundcloud and Bandcamp, and is part of their second EP.Fresh from the school of funk that fed the likes of James Brown, Dennis Rollins joins an elite lineage of trombone players responsible for changing it’s perceptions.

From the Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Courtney Pine, to Maceo Parker and PeeWee Ellis, Rollins has leant his ‘bone skills to an array of jazz, funk and groove personalities.

Here, Rollins presents ‘Funky Funk’ an electrifying 6-piece outfit exploring funky grooves, fat bass-lines and sumptuous melodies. Funky Fink is a seriously funky band with an infectious sound that makes you want to move!Is there a more iconic Cuban album than Buena Vista Social Club’s eponymous debut? Winning the Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album, it remains a high watermark not just for Cuban music but world music as a whole, having been only one of two non-English speaking albums to be included in Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time list. Doing this album any sort of justice is no easy task, but there isn’t anyone better than Sambroso Sambroso, the beating heart of London’s Cuban community and flourishing music scene. He has whipped up a bonafide ‘all star’ group of Cuban musicians who will pay their own unique and loving tribute to the landmark album right here in Harrogate.In New Orleans, they celebrate in style. Second Lining is a quintessential New Orleans art form: following the band to enjoy the music, marching and dancing, twirling parasols and waving handkerchiefs. It is a full on street intervention. If you’re lucky enough to be caught up in the commotion, you’re part of the Second Line.

Global Dance Stage

Town Centre

Appearing around the town centre, presented in association with The Harrogate Bid.

Belles Spring is in the air! Charming, elegant and beautiful Blue Belles.

The Blue Belles bring the delights of spring and summer meadows to your event. Based on our famous native bluebell flower — “fairy thimbles” — which represents everlasting love, The Blue Belles are magical as well as beautiful, making them perfect for Harrogate with it’s floral heritage. Roo'd Giant kangaroos on amazing bouncing stilts? That’s Roo’d! Jumping a metre off the ground and 2 metres in a bound, they’re a phenomenal sight with their cheeky blend of outback macho and inner city punk savvy — always Roo’d but never offensive.

Have a tree hug with some amazing real life Living Topiary! Introducing one of the planet’s most quirky, outrageous and downright silly walkabout entertainment acts!

Straight from the pages of a fairy story these human shaped plants have come to life to walk, talk and cuddle their way around events worldwide.

You’ll never look at your own bush the same way after you meet one of these cheeky trees. They look exactly like the real thing only better, bigger, noisier and funnier. The Living Topiary have caused hilarity wherever they’ve appeared, are you brave enough to have a picture with them? Be careful, you might become part of the entertainment.Introducing Issiah and Florence, two magnificent 10 foot flamingos and their ever knowledgeable handler, Harriet Bird.