Organisers of the country’s biggest celebration of food and drink have announced MasterChef 2019 winner Irini Tzortzoglou will join their star-studded London Foodies Festival.

The TV cooking champion will add a sprinkle of Greek flavour to the 10th anniversary event taking place in London’s Syon Park over the May Bank Holiday Weekend (Saturday, May 25 to Monday, May 27).

The 61-year-old, who came out top in the BBC contest’s first ever all-female final, will showcase her culinary skills honed by her childhood on the island of Crete.

Also appearing in the Chefs Theatre will be actor John Partridge who played Christian Clarke in EasterEnders and was crowned Celebrity MasterChef 2018 champion.

Festival director Sue Hitchen said: “We are thrilled to announce Irini Tzortzoglou will join our London line-up. We loved her on MasterChef and it’s a scoop to secure her for our milestone anniversary event in London.

“We promise our festival visitors the crème de la crème and along with the star names there will be a host of local culinary and musical talent as part of a packed programme of family friendly attractions.”

The 2019 Foodies Festival will dish up more than 200 exhibitors and award-winning artisan producers.

Attractions also include a Street Food Village, Cakes and Desserts Theatre, Kids Cookery School, Healthy Living Area, Chef’s Theatre, Vegan Beer Tent and Dog Arena with fun competitions as well as chilli eating contests and food and drink masterclasses.

Headlining on the music stage will be super-group Boyzlife featuring Westlife’s Brian McFadden and Boyzone’s Keith Duffy.

Joining them will be renowned Queen tribute band Flash and a variety of emerging local bands and soloists.

The three-day Foodies Festival is expected to draw more than 20,000 food-lovers to the capital and has been hailed as ‘crucial’ to the city’s tourism offer by the Mayor of London’s promotional agency, London and Partners.

Tracy Halliwell, the Director of Tourism, Conventions & Major Events at London & Partners, said: “Foodies Festival is a brilliant example of how visitors and Londoners alike can come together to experience a taste of the capital’s vibrant food and entertainment scene.

“London truly is a foodie’s paradise, with a fantastic and diverse culinary offer that continues to delight visitors from all over the world, and these events are crucial in driving even more tourism to the capital.”

For the second year running, the festival is supporting Musicians Against Homelessness (MAH) with tickets raising money for UK-wide homelessness charity Crisis.

Syon Park, Brentford, TW8 8JF, Saturday, May 25 to Monday, May 27. Details: 0844 9951111 foodiesfestival.com