FOODIES flocked to an Oxford park over the weekend to enjoy a vibrant array of dishes from all over the world.

Founder of the Foodies Festival Sue Hitchen declared the event was ‘here to stay’ as she revealed it had enjoyed its most popular Saturday since starting out in the city.

Thousands of people descended on South Park, in Headington, for the start of the three-day celebration of all things food - which included appearances from Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown and Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt.

Ms Hitchen said: “It’s wonderful to be back in Oxford and have this support. We’ve just been overwhelmed by the passion of visitors coming to the event.

“It’s been really well received and it’s for every generation. Sometimes we see three or four generations from the same family coming out together.”

The festival brings together food, drink, cookery demonstrations by top chefs and live music for an event that aims to appeal to every age.

A group of friends from West Oxfordshire - Charlotte Swan, Charlie Stow and Sadie and Rob Andrews - enjoyed their day out in the sun on Saturday sampling the many treats on offer.

Mr Andrews, 27, of Carterton, had his stomach set on something cheesy.

He said: “I really want to try the big melted wheels of cheese that they scrape onto a baguette. To be honest, if I didn’t have a limited capacity I would try everything.”

Twenty-four year old Mr Stow, of Witney, was enjoying a ‘whole pig baguette’, which included crackling, pulled pork and stuffing.

He said: “It’s as good as it looks - it’s all the best parts of a roast dinner put into a baguette.”

Richard Mathews, of Oxford, was in his element in the event. He enjoyed a massage, a burger and the first beer he had had in a long time.

He said: “This has just been awesome. What a great idea. I had my first beer I’d had in about a year and it was beautiful.

“Life doesn’t get much better than this.”

Ms Hitchen founded the festival in her home city of Edinburgh in 2006 - keen to create a fun, family friendly festival that celebrated food and gave top chefs the opportunity to entertain audiences with their cooking.

Since then it has gone from strength to strength, and now there are festivals in Newcastle, Brighton, Birmingham and others, as well as Oxford.