Feast street food festival begins in South Shields Market, with customers and traders enjoying the first day

The inaugural ‘Feast’ is taking place on Friday and Saturday September 24 and 25 as part of efforts to reinvigorate the town centre after months of covid restrictions.

A variety of food types are on offer with businesses from across the North East offering the likes of Armenian food, German sausages, and Central American cuisine.

Traders said they were pleased with the initial reaction to the event and are hoping for a busy weekend.

Piotr Herman, runs the Armenian food stall, said: “It’s a really good event. Especially that it’s over two days. We’ve been busy so far and we’re expecting it to get even busier on Saturday. The weather is lovely too so it’s a really positive atmosphere.”

Also on offer was a unique mix of Mexican and Latin American food from Jose at El Paladar.

He said: “It’s fantastic. People seem happy and are enjoying some great food. It’s a good idea what they’re trying to do and definitely a positive thing.”

Graham Cammfield, who was selling German sausages at the festival, said: “It’s a new thing and anything that brings more people into the town centre is a good thing.”

Rachel Holmes from Sunderland-based business R Place was offering up sweet treats to customers at the event.

“It’s always great to have more festivals like this especially after the last year we’ve had,”she said.

"It’s good to see people out and enjoying themselves. I hope we can continue to do more things like this.”

A number of food lovers were also keen to explore new tastes from around the world with some struggling to choose from the impressive selection.

Customer Peter Cammish said: “The food is delicious. It’s the first time I’ve tried Armenian food and it’s very good. You see a lot of shops closing down these days so it’s nice to see something new and positive.”Feast Street food festival is taking place at South Shields Market Place on Friday September 24 and 25, from 12pm-8pm.

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