Stand-up comedian Jason Manford will add a side order of laughter to a mouth watering fine dining menu when he appears at Signature – the food festival being staged by The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen.
The comic, who has also recently appeared on stage in the West End and recorded a top 10 album, will help to bring the curtain up on the popular foodies’ event by performing at a lunch on November 3.
The dessert and petit fours to round-off the three-course meal will be created by world-class patissier and chocolatier William Curley, who is making his second appearance at Signature having kicked it off in 2018 with an exquisite afternoon tea.
In addition to the pastry star, Signature will bring together six of the nation’s top chefs who between them hold a collective six Michelin stars and 19 AA Rosettes.
The entire festival, which runs from November 3 - 15, is staged in The Chester Hotel, with guest chefs recreating some highlights from the menus in their own restaurants at a series of intimate dinners for just 80 diners.
Tickets for Signature went on sale earlier this week. Places at the dinner staged by two-time Great British Menu winner Daniel Clifford, chef patron of two Michelin-starred Midsummer House, sold out within a matter of hours and all other events are selling fast.
Graham Wood, owner of The Chester Hotel and the mastermind behind Signature, said Mr Manford would bring a very different element to the event. He added: “We’re delighted to have the company of such a high-profile star on the opening day of Signature, following on from last year’s performance by soul singer Beverley Knight.
“He’s become a household name as a result of his appearances on television shows such as 8 out of 10 Cats, QI and Live at the Apollo, and more recently in the West End shows Sweeney Todd and Guys and Dolls.
“Although he’s shown that he is an all-round performer with his forays into singing and acting, Signature guests will see him doing what he’s best known for. We’re all looking forward to seeing his stand-up routine, and we’re sure it will get Signature off the best possible start.”
The lunch will also have a musical element with The London Essentials – a fun, acoustic collective which has performed for the likes of George Clooney, Prince Charles and Richard Branson. The group has a wide-ranging repertoire from Rat Pack classics to current chart favourites – all of which are given the band’s own distinctive treatment through vocal harmonies and instrumentation.
In addition to William Curley and Daniel Clifford, other leading chefs taking part in Signature are Glyn Purnell, Martin Wishart, Brian Grigor, Phil Howard and Roy Brett.
Signature will once again this year be raising money for good causes. In 2018, the event made an incredible £239,000 donation to Friends of the Neonatal Unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, with a further £12,000 going to Friendly Access – a charity supporting those with hidden disabilities.
For more information, please visit: www.signaturefoodfestival.co.uk
The Chester Hotel, the only four silver star hotel in Aberdeen, is a luxury boutique hotel in the fashionable west end of Aberdeen. To book accommodation as part of a visit to Signature, go to www.chester-hotel.com
