LIVERPOOL Food and Drink Festival is back for a fourth year, and organisers are promising this will be the biggest yet.

Starting on Saturday, September 3, in Sefton Park, the week-long festival promises an array of mouth-watering dishes from bars, restaurants, hotels and food retail outlets across the city.

To launch the festival, organisers SK Events are encouraging Merseyside amateur cooks, businesses, cookery students and professional chefs to get whimsical in the kitchen by creating gastronomic masterpieces, worthy of Heston Blumenthal.

Denise Harris, director  of SK Events, said: “Gastronomy is all about the art and science of good eating, and we’re looking for all types of weird and wonderful food creations in any shape or size.

"Competition entrants will be whittled down to a shortlist of ten who will all showcase their designs at the festival’s official launch and also at the festival awards on September 12.

“Liverpool has a growing reputation as the modern food and drink capital of the North West and we wanted to embrace that within this year’s launch, while acknowledging that this is an exciting event for the 21st century.

“This will be our fourth food and drink festival in the city, and what better way to celebrate than to inspire both amateur and professional chefs to combine innovation and design with their overwhelming love of food.”