The second Comber Potato Festival will take place in the town’s main square this Saturday from 10am-5pm. An array of Northern Ireland’s top food producers and chefs will be there, but the star of the show will be the superspud that is the Comber Early.

This free event will be a celebration of this princely potato, which has been awarded EU PGI status putting it in the same league as Champagne and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies.

Highlights include:

• Food stalls where customers can buy and sample the potatoes and meet the producers.

• Street food including Broughgammon Farm Billy Burgers, Jolly Pies and Krazi Baker griddle breads.

• Local Producer stalls where you can sample and buy including Abernethy Butter, Harnett’s Oils, Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Passion Preserved relishes and chutneys and Thyme and Co Gluten Free Cakes.

• Free entertainment including live music, The Ark Open Farm, a treasure hunt and children’s potato printing workshops.

• Cookery demos with local chefs using Comber Earlies in their recipes including Paula McIntyre and Carl Johansson from James Street South.

The 2014 line up:

There will be so many of Northern Ireland’s best and most loved producers in attendance, along with lots more new faces. Here are some of the names confirmed so far…

Abernethy Butter, Eva Paris Macarons, Wilson’s Country Potatoes, Comber Potato Company, Broughgammon Farm, Mash Direct Bus, Thyme and Co Gluten Free Cakes, The Krazi Baker, Choice Pizza DIY kits, Simply Irresistible Carnbrooke Dexter Burgers, Broighter Gold rapeseed oils, Old Post Office, Lisbane, Forthill Farm meat and pork street food, Red Dog Foods American style sauces, Harnett’s Oils, Conway Summer Fruits, Chocolate Memories, Passion Preserved Relishes and Chutneys, Eleanor Craig’s Fudge, Foster’s Chocolates, Foodie Folk, Jolly Pies, Glens of Antrim Potatoes, Mike’s Fancy Cheese, Armagh apple growers.

With cookery demonstations by:

• Carl Johansson James Street South Bar and Grill, Belfast

• Colin Mc Creedy, La Mon Hotel

• Kelin McMichael, The Poacher’s Pocket, Lisbane

• Will Brown The Old Schoolhouse Inn, Comber

• BBC Radio Ulster chef Paula McIntyre

• Fritz Machala, Sugarcane Bistro, Comber

Visit: www.comberearlies.com