One of the finalists of MasterChef: The Professionals has been announced as the latest star to appear at a food festival in East Lancashire.

Matt Willdigg went all the way to the final of the competition in 2022 where his love for wild ingredients was a big hit.

Cooking professionally since the age of 16, Matt will appear at the Nelson Food & Drink Festival on Saturday, September 14.

Matt has honed his skills at some of the UK’s most prestigious restaurants, including spending time working in London under Angela Hartnett at the Michelin-starred Murano restaurant.

Now chef director/head chef at Fell Bistro in Longridge, Matt will run a live cooking demonstration at the Nelson festival where he will showcase his passion for pizza.

His enthusiasm for the dish is so great that he has brought his culinary expertise to a new venture, Oh! Pizza, offering quality Neapolitan pizza ranging from Mexican to ham hock and pineapple.

If you want to catch Matt at the festival, his demonstration will get underway from 1.30pm and it will be one of three taking place across the day, while there will be more than 30 food and drink stalls for visitors to enjoy.

Blackburn social media star Shabaz Ali, also known as ‘Shabaz Says’, will compere the free-to-attend event, while there will be free henna and face painting throughout the day as well as Bollywood dancing from 12.30pm.

Matt said: "I am really looking forward to getting the chance to speak to people about using wild ingredients in their recipes.

"It is something I am very passionate about and I can't wait to share that.

"I am also very passionate about pizza and I will be cooking up a delicious pizza on the main stage, which members of the public can sample afterwards."

Cllr Ruby Anwar, chair of Nelson Town Council's events committee, said: "It is a real honour for us to welcome someone of Matt's stature to the Nelson Food & Drink Festival, and we can't wait to see what he cooks up on the main stage."