Tickets are now available for the St Albans Food and Drink Festival Gala Dinner and Awards hosted by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli at Sopwell House on Friday 3rd July!

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St Albans Food and Drink Festival is back this summer, and local gastronomy‐lovers are in for a treat as an extra‐large portion of foodie events and activities are served up for the Festival’s second year.

The Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be the culmination event for the whole Festival, set in the stunning surroundings of Sopwell House on Friday 3rd July.

St Albans Food and Drink Festival are proud to announce that the event will be hosted by celebrity chef and restaurateur Aldo Zilli! Aldo, famed for his masterful approach to Italian cuisine, will be leaving the kitchen for this very special occasion, where he’ll  host the award ceremony and will entertain the guests in attendance with his own imitable style.

The glittering evening will commence with a Champagne reception on the lawn (weather permitting!), followed by a locally sourced banquet created especially for the occasion by Sopwell’s Executive Chef James Chapman. This menu will feature five delicious courses all inspired by St Albans, and each matched with a complementary wine.

Wine provided by Alterocca Wines. Alterocca is an agency specialising in fine Italian wines. The estate boasts over 1000 years of history. During the seventeenth century the descendants of the Strozzi Guicciardini family were united through a marriage in London with the Marlborough family of Sir Winston Churchill. But perhaps the most famous ancestor of all is Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, better known as “La Gioconda” or “Mona Lisa”, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, and whose family is still represented by the fifteenth generation of descendants. For more info please visit www.alterocca.com.

 After dinner guests will be able to enjoy anecdotes from Aldo, who will then host the very first St Albans Food and Drink Festival Awards ceremony. The evening will finish with a disco.

All the nominees will be eagerly awaiting this evening to find out whether they will be crowned St Albans’ Best Restaurant, Pub, Bar, Coffee Shop and Family Friendly Venue. The public have been voting for their favourites and the panel of Judges will soon meet to decide the winner (using the public vote as a guide).

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Tickets will sell out fast so make sure you get yours as its bound to be a fabulous evening on Friday 3rd July!

Tickets can be purchased from The Alban Arena Box Office on 01727 844488, or http://www.alban‐arena.co.uk/ . Tickets are priced at just £65 including VAT, and include all food andwine.