FOUR stars from the world of food have been announced as guest stars of this year’s Abergavenny Food Festival.

The full programme of events for this year’s festival, which takes place on September 15 and 16, is still under wraps until tickets go on sale in July.

But organisers have this week announced some of the stars who will be demonstrating at the 14th annual festival.

The guests will bring a mix of Spanish, French, Jewish and Arabic cuisine to the festival.

Food anthropologist Claudia Roden will be demonstrating dishes from her latest book The Food of Spain which took her five years to complete.

There will also be an appearance by one of Britain’s most influential chefs, Pierre Koffmann, who has dominated the London restaurant scene for more than 25 years accruing three Michelin stars and a legion of famous protégés.

His latest venture is the French brasserie-style Koffmanns at The Berkeley Hotel and he will discuss chefs and Michelin stars with national newspaper food writer Matthew Fort during the festival.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, who are the duo behind the Ottolenghi restaurants, will be answering questions at the festival.

Mr Ottolenghi, who writes a weekly column in a national newspaper, will also demonstrate recipes from their new book Jerusalem Cookbook.

All of the guests will be taking part in book signing sessions over the weekend.

The food festival, launched in 1999, has brought up to £30 million into Gwent over the last 13 years and attracts ten of thousands of visitors every year.

It incorporates a mix of masterclasses, tutored tastings, talks and debates each year.

For more information on this year’s festival, see aber gavennyfoodfestival.com