The Food Lovers Festival returns in May, the perfect reason to tuck into everything this North Yorkshire town has to offer
The Best Foodie Town in Yorkshire
The market town of Malton in North Yorkshire is famous for its annual food festivals celebrating local produce, and for its trailblazing town centre of independent stores and award-winning artisans, where you can find anything your taste-buds desire. Not just a place to eat food, this is a place to experience food: from exquisite patisseries to micro-brewing, from award-winning gelateries to some of Yorkshire’s best bread, from fishmongers to greengrocers, it’s locally-made or grown, bursting with fresh local ingredients, and showcasing exceptional craftsmanship – often in demand in the finest restaurants across the UK.
With the town centre focused around the marketplace, it is little surprise that markets form a hub of activity whenever they take place. Every Saturday, there’s a small traditional local market, from 9am to 3pm. The biggest market in the district takes place on the second Saturday of each month (March to November), which is like a mini food festival promising specialist food stalls, homewares and street food.
Three times a year – in May, September and December – Malton celebrates its produce and producers with extra special showcase events: the Malton Food Lover’s Festival in May, the Malton 10k in September, and the Christmas Festival in December. Malton’s appetites are much bigger than its belly, however – Malton might be a small market town, but it has more to offer than many cities. Malton has ancient history: the town is surrounded by world-class archaeological landscapes, including its own Roman fort and town. Not surprisingly, Malton Museum boasts collections of rare national importance, with events and exhibitions that bring the past vividly to life, including an annual Regency Ball!
Meanwhile, the town’s extraordinary food culture is mirrored in its thriving arts and crafts scene. Street upon street of independent art galleries, craft workshops, design studios and antique curiosity shops, showcase the work of award-winning makers. Art even spills out onto the streets – look out for the Yorkshire Pudding Mural, or the Pink Cow.
Above all, Malton is a town that supports local makers, providing space and opportunity for creativity and excellence, and actively building its public art programme and its marketplace. You can even have a go yourself in company of the town’s masters, whether inventing your own bespoke bottle of gin, making a macaroon, unleashing your inner blacksmith, handcrafting your own eco-friendly candle, or meeting amazing local authors in conversation at Kemps Bookstore.
What’s New in Malton?
Malton is much more than a town: it’s a family of makers and creators brought together by a passion for food and art. Not surprisingly, some of the most exciting additions to Malton’s calendar in 2025 are brought about by collaborations, which encourage everyone to get fully hands-on and creative.
Highlights include the Malton Food Lovers Festival; The Cook’s Place new event series; After Dark Secret Society, supper and cocktail club featuring the mixology skills of Roost Coffee & Roastery; Cooking the Books, a monthly book club recreating menus inspired by popular novels with Kemps Bookstore; and Loving Leftovers, a masterclass of ‘reloving’ where frugal becomes fun, with textiler Hermione Crowe.
In a town of ethical trailblazers, The Beecham Weigh is something of a local icon. Established 40 years ago by pharmacist ‘Mr B’ and now run by Ian Beecham’s daughter, Davina, it’s an Aladdin’s Cave of ethically-sourced organic foods, many of which are available with reduced waste using refill dispensers, and complementary medicine. The store has now expanded to offer special services, including blood and allergy testing. Visitors to the Wesley Centre, an iconic landmark in the town, will soon be enjoying a state-of-the-art refurbishment. Thanks to a major grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Malton’s historic church is currently installing a flexible 600-seat auditorium, new facilities for the disabled, a concert and events box office, a community café and a purpose-built space for Malton Free Fridge, which provides free surplus food to more than 30,000 people a year. One of the area’s most popular restaurants, Tykes at Sandburn Hall, has celebrated its 20th anniversary with a major makeover by award-winning interior designer, Rachel McLane, alongside a fresh new menu from head chef Mark Hudson, featuring local ingredients.
There’s also a rather special new signpost in Green Man’s Alley. Talented illustrator Nathan Boden has created a new outdoor artwork as part of Malton’s sculpture trail, which lures visitors into Talbot Yard. Kerala was the first restaurant to bring South Indian flavours to Yorkshire, and now it’s brought its authentic signature menus to Malton, in its second-only venture, receiving rave reviews from local diners. And don’t miss Bias Stores. Stylish and sustainable, Bias is a new ‘hygge’ lifestyle outlet with a Scandinavian twist, and a welcome addition to the town’s many designers.
Where to Stay in Malton?
Malton has, so far, avoided the gaze of soulless national chain hotels, so you can be sure of a traditional Yorkshire welcome at the independent hostelries, country cottages, farmhouses and even converted shipping containers that provide a unique place to lay your head.
Favourites include The Talbot, a 17th century coaching inn at the gateway to the town; The Old Lodge, a 17th century Tudor mansion in three acres of manicured gardens; Chiltern Place is a collection of luxurious self-catering apartments for two in the heart of Malton; and The Box BNB is a unique development of shipping containers converted into luxury cabins at Moor Close Farm, High Marishes.
A host of other holiday lets, cabins, glamping and farmhouses are available nearby, and slightly further afield, Sandburn Hall offers hotel rooms, suites and lodges in Griffon Forest, whilst Flamingo Land has holiday lodges, cottages, and caravans, and the luxurious Dewars Hotel is right on its doorstep.
The UK’s Best Guided Gastronomic Tour
What’s so extraordinary about Malton is that so much of the award-winning food and drink is made or prepared on the premises, so you don’t just buy food – you taste, smell, hear, see, and touch it. Prepare to be seduced with their sensational showcases for all of the senses. With its carnival atmosphere, Malton’s free to enter food festival is amongst the best in the UK, a celebration of local produce and a ‘must-taste’ experience of chef demos, tastings and talks, street-food and stalls, and live music. The Food Lovers Festival, hailed as Yorkshire’s ‘Foodie Glastonbury’, takes place over bank holiday weekend, 24th-26th May.
The gourmet Malton 10k, a unique ‘race’ for foodies, is on 21st September, with the star attraction being the scrumptious Sunday Market. Its specialist stalls and street food are a welcome treat for hungry runners and spectators alike. Then there is the Christmas Festival, festive fun with delicious food, gift stalls, street food, live music, family entertainment, and Malton’s shops dressed to impress, returning from 6th-7th December.
Explore Malton’s flavours on one of the UK’s top guided gastronomic tours: you’ll meet some of the town’s best artisan producers and go behind-the-scenes to discover the secrets behind Malton’s most famous products while tasting treats along the way. At the Rare Bird Gin School in Talbot Yard, you’ll be making your own bespoke bottle of gin with the guidance of a master distiller. This is a working distillery, open to view so you can see how this delicious drink is hand-crafted in the heart of town.
Malton’s Cookery School, The Cook’s Place, is the place to cook, eat, drink and enjoy a great day out while focusing on great Yorkshire produce. No matter what level your cooking skills, award-winning chef Gilly Robinson will help you create and enjoy courses ranging from a Family Bake Day to a Christmas Feast All Wrapped Up. What’s clear is that there is plenty to sink your teeth into in Malton.
For more things to do and places to see in Malton, head to visitmalton.com
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