FATHER and son duo Terry and Matt Teale know the sky’s the limit when it comes to organising a summer festival in Herefordshire.

Twelve years ago they decided to stop organising church flower festivals in the village of Shobdon and take a more high-flying approach by combining two of their great loves - food and drink. They wanted to celebrate Herefordshire’s gastronomy and support local producers over a weekend the whole family could enjoy with any profits donated to predominantly local charities and good causes.

Six years later in 2011, the event was attracting nearly 3,000 visitors and more than 70 arts and craft exhibitors from the county, Worcestershire, Shropshire, across the border in Wales and from further field.

In 2013 it joined forces with the Herefordshire Aero Club’s popular aviation weekend at Shobdon Airfield and became the Shobdon Food and Flying Festival - almost 5,000 visitors flocked to the village to enjoy everything from parachute displays and classic aircraft to the best mix yet of Herefordshire’s finest food and drink.

This year the festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday July 1 and 2 and combines the best local gastronomy, a host of aviation attractions, arts and crafts, demonstrations, live music and lots more including an evening of live music from the cast of the country’s leading Rat Pack tribute show.

For more details and the schedule visit http://www.shobdonfoodandflyingfestival.co.uk/ or email shobdonfoodfestival@gmail.com.

Great British Bake Off contestant Howard Middleton will be headlining the cookery demonstrations. He said: “I’m thrilled to have been invited to Shobdon this year. It’s an event that has a fine history and reputation and I’m looking forward to my first visit to Herefordshire.”

His first book, Delicious Gluten-Free Baking, was published in September 2015 to rave reviews and visitors have a chance to get theirs signed following each demonstration.

Other local chefs demonstrating cookery during the weekend include Tom Tudor, head chef of the Ship Inn at Tenbury Wells. Tom has worked in Michelin star restaurants both locally and in Birmingham and loves creating new and exciting dishes, containing many different elements and executes them with flair.

Rob Swift of Swift’s Bakery, with shops in Tenbury Wells, Clee Hill, Ludlow and Craven Arms is also in the cookery demonstration line-up. Rob and his brother John run the bakery business which started 150 years ago and a baking school on the Eco Park in Ludlow.

Other chefs to look out for are Rory Bunting from the Oak, at Wigmore, near Leominster; Andy Link from the Riverside Inn, at Aymestrey, near Leominster; Matt Handley from the Stagg Inn Titley, Kington; Ross Williams from the Kilpeck Inn, near Hereford; and Rayeesa Asghar Sandys, who runs Herefordshire’s first and only authentic Indian Cookery School from her home in Mordiford, near Hereford.

More than 50 of the region’s finest producers will be there with flavours from Japan, Thailand, Spain, Italy and the very best Herefordshire has to offer available for visitors to sample and buy.