A NORTH food and drink festival is gearing up to welcome a Bake Off star to this year’s event, who will be putting amateur bakers to the test when she judges a cake making contest.

Alice Fevronia, a finalist in 2019’s The Great British Bake Off, will be visiting Taste of Nairn, a three-day food and drink festival which is running for a second consecutive year between April 3-5.

The London-based geography teacher, who reached the grand final of the Channel 4 show, will head to the seaside town to act as a judge in the festival’s own showstopper contest. Fevronia said: “I’m so excited to be coming to beautiful Nairn this April and to be demoing at the Taste of Nairn festival.

“I have never been to the Highlands of Scotland before, so I am really looking forward to exploring the town and celebrating the festival’s delicious food and drink!”

Event organisers Nairn BID have also announced that local Ashers Bakery will be supporting Taste of Nairn as its title sponsor.

Ashers has been a family baker in Nairn since 1877, and is a key employer committed to supporting the local community.

Director Ali Asher said: “As a long-established Nairn family bakery, we’re delighted to be the main sponsor of this exciting new event.

“There are many excellent food producers in Nairnshire and a weekend like this, which highlights what we have on our doorstep, can only be good for all local businesses.

“It creates a buzz around this great town with a load of interesting stuff going on for locals and tourists alike.”

This year’s Taste of Nairn will include a mini music festival with street food, a food and drink market, food-related street performances and a farmers market in the town centre.

In its first year, the festival showcased over 40 businesses, and it is hoped that more will join the festivities for 2020.

Janis Maclean, Nairn BID manager, said: “Last year’s event was a huge success given that it was its debut, and we hope that by adding more events and inviting Alice, businesses and locals can see that we are invested in making Nairn a go-to destination. We are also thrilled to have Ashers as title sponsor and thank them for their support.”