It's a recipe for a tasty weekend: a celebration of something we all know and love - Kentish food and drink - by the county's top chefs, with a dash of live music. Here, we preview the festival and speak to the man bringing it.

A celebrity chef he may be, but Tom Kerridge is as down to earth as they come.

A man after everyone's own heart, he loves food and drink - even after his well-documented battle with his weight, including on his own show, BBC2's Lose Weight for Good.

And he also loves the great, British pub, so what better than to bring the two together?

Tom launched his Pub in the Park festival in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and tickets sold like hot cakes. This year, he's extending it to other venues and Tunbridge Wells gets it this weekend.

And he's lined up a veritable smorgasbord of local chef talent and artisan treats to get tastebuds going.

The Sportsman's Stephen Harris, The Wife of Bath and Rocksalt chef Mark Sargeant and Kent-born Angela Hartnett MBE will join him at the three-day festival in Dunorlan Park.

Also on the line-up will be the Tanner Brothers from The Kentish Hare near Tunbridge Wells, and Rob Taylor from the Compasses Inn at Crundale.

Tom said: "It gives people a chance to try food from restaurants they might not have gone to before. Kent has some great restaurants and great chefs. It's an opportunity to support the local chefs in the area. The buzz it created last year in Marlow was amazing and people were talking about what good fun it was for ages afterwards. We want to bring that to Tunbridge Wells. It ticks all the boxes.

"We're going to be showcasing beautiful food and creating a buzz around this beautiful town. I know it will be amazing."

"There is something beautiful about food and drink - the people who work with it absolutely love it. It isn't a job to them - it is a way of life. We want their passion for it. Artisan is about passion and heart."

But if you thought with such a line-up, which also includes recent Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown doing demonstrations, it was going to be an exclusive affair, you'd be wrong - Tom wants it as down to earth as he clearly is.

"We're bringing in people who have the heart and soul and the passion. Artisan is a word which is banded about a lot, but it is about passion and heart and soul, so this festival has that artisanal feel.

"I want it to have a feel like it's just in your back garden. We don't want it to feel like a special occasion with special stuff - we want it to be celebrating food that you make every day. It will be something really special in your back garden."

The event will have the very best food the county has to offer, combined with live music, chef demonstrations and talks, plus shopping and other festival fun.

Top notch chefs from elsewhere in the country also taking part include Stephen Terry from the Hardwick in Wales, Josh Eggleton of the Great British Chef whose Pony and Trap pub is in Bristol, Southampton based Paul Ainsworth from Paul Ainsworth Restaurants and Indian food specialist Atul Kochhar.

MOUTHWATERING MUSIC

On the Friday night, Tom Odell and Sophie Ellis Bextor will take to the stage, while Saturday sees Toploader and Gabrielle Aplin perform in the afternoon and Razorlight and Mel C in the evening.

Sunday sees The Christians and Sound of Sirens play the afternoon, with Billy Ocean, Scouting for Girls and the Rifles play in the evening.

DETAILS

Pub in the Park will be at Dunorlan Park, Tunbridge Wells from Friday, July 6 to Sunday, July 8. Tickets at £25 for the afternoon and £40 for the evening are available at pubintheparkuk.com along with children’s, VIP tickets and weekend tickets.