TWO well-known food writers will combine the worlds of food and books at York’s Dean Court Hotel later this month, as part of the city’s Festival of Food and Drink.

The hotel, in Duncombe Place, is hosting a special literary dinner on September 25, allowing people to mix culture and cuisine.

It is one of a raft of events taking place throughout the city during the popular ten-day festival.

The two guest authors are Kate Lock and Gilly Smith.

Kate, who is also a former columnist for The Press, wrote Confessions Of An Eco-Shopper, in which she decided to ditch the sweatshops and supermarkets, and go green.

She aims to appeal to those who feel guilty about buying over-packaged and instant food, and who want to go organic instead.

Gilly wrote The Jamie Oliver Effect: The Man, The Food, The Revolution. It updates an earlier book, with new chapters looking at the growing influence of declining oil supplies and climate change on our food habits.

A spokesman for the organisers said: “Jamie’s new series, inspired by the Ministry of Food, will be on TV in the autumn, so it should be a very timely contribution to the debate.”

The food will be provided by DCH, the hotel’s restaurant, whose head chef Valerie Storer sources all ingredients as locally as possible.

The three-course dinner is on Thursday, September 25, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £29.50 and can be reserved by emailing sales@deancourt-york.co.uk or phoning 01904 625082.

Meanwhile, a range of cookery workshops are being organised across York during the festival, with the aim of teaching 1,000 novices how to cook.

Each session in the Guildhall will allow up to 72 people to take part. There will also be workshops elsewhere, including for children in the York Designer Outlet and the National Railway Museum.

Festival director Michael Hjort said: “This is the first time we have attempted to involve so many people in hands-on cooking.

“These are cookery sessions of a totally different order and a scale that is unique to the York Festival. I don’t think you will find this level of involvement at any other food festival.”

Public sessions for adults, children and the homeless will run at the weekends while midweek will be dedicated to a wide-ranging schools’ programme covering primary and secondary schools and higher education.

Tickets are £5 and £7.50. For full details of all festival events, visit www.yorkfestivaloffoodanddrink.com or phone 01904 466687.