TASTY treats and mouthwatering meals were sampled at a special event aimed at attracting people to the Top of The Town.

Taste at The Top of Town saw award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and BBC2's Great British Menu winner James Durrant hold cooking demonstrations outside.

Crowds gathered in Market Square, sitting on straw hay bales to watch the action, as James, who runs The Plough Inn at Longparish, and Jean-Christophe used Hampshire produce in the live food theatre shows.

There was standing room only for Jean-Christophe, as more than 250 people flocked to see the celebrity chef's lunchtime gourmet demonstration.

While James impressed the audience with his mouth-watering summer duck recipe, and told those watching about his new cookery school that has just launched at The Plough.

A masterclass was also held with Andy Mackenzie, of Lainston House Hotel, in Winchester, who cooked a Hampshire speciality trout.

The free event was funded by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council as part of Hampshire Fare's 15th annual county food festival.

More than 3,000 people attended, browsing around 20 local and best of Hampshire food stalls in Market Place, Wote Street and London Street.

There was plenty of food themed activities to keep the crowds entertained, including carrot and courgette carving, making a veggie musical instrument with the London Vegetable Orchestra and a pedal powered smoothie bike for participants to make their own fruity drinks.

Art and craft workshops were available for children, taking on a fruity theme, and a juice making workshop also proved popular.

Restaurants and businesses at the Top of The Town took part in the free street festival, offering special deals throughout the day along with music and family entertainment to attract customers inside.

Top of The Town trader Alan Stone was declared the winner of an omelette cooking challenge, judged by Jean-Christophe and chef and trader Patti Sloley.

Students from Basingstoke College of Technology took to the stage with a food dye fashion show at the Willis Museum and Proteus Theatre Company offered a theatrical fun fair activity.

The event was the latest to be commissioned by the council as part of the Basingstoke Town Centre Programme, organised by a joint consortium of Proteus Theatre Company, Big Adventures event management and Starfish Design and Marketing.

Cabinet member for housing and regeneration Cllr Terri Reid, who leads the Basingstoke Town Centre Programme, said: “With the sun shining, high profile chefs giving mouth-watering demonstrations and lots of activities and entertainment, the Taste event attracted crowds to the Top of The Town.

"Stalls offering the chance to try different foods reported that they were doing a roaring trade and it was so popular that I would really love to bring another food event like this back to the Market Place in the future.”