Dundee Flower and Food Festival has enjoyed another great year, pulling record numbers to the event.
More than 21,500 people turned out to enjoy the weekend festival, which benefited from dry weather and almost cloudless skies on Sunday.
Celebrity guests including Great British Bake Off presenter Paul Hollywood, graced the event, taking classes and hosting book signings.
Mr Hollywood said: “I was in Scotland a couple of weeks ago at the Edinburgh festival, and I was up with the Scottish Bakers looking at all the cakes and bread that Scotland has to offer.
“I was only too happy to come up to Dundee. I love coming up to Scotland.”
Other famous guests included BBC presenter Christine Walkden and Great British Bake Off winner James Morton.Photo gallery: Dundee Flower and Food FestivalSpeaking to the Courier, Mr Morton said: “The flower and food festival is amazing. I can’t believe the weather. It is so great to be here. It is my first time, but it certainly won’t be my last.”
The festival was opened on Friday by Dundee MSP Joe FitzPatrick. The opening was followed by the launch of an application to have Dundee Cake awarded PGI status in the European Union, effectively meaning the cake can only be made in the city.
Rural Affairs Minister Richard Lochhead said: “Achieving PGI status for Dundee Cake will ensure that consumers at home and abroad have a 100% guarantee of the product’s authenticity.”
Alongside the celebrity guests, visitors were treated to a range of other activities, including cookery classes, displays and shopping.
Cooking masterclasses were conducted by local chefs including Geoffrey Smeddle, of the renowned Peat Inn in Fife, and Hayley Wilkes, resident chef at Angus Farmers’ Markets, who dazzled guests by making an Arbroath Smokie risotto.
A wide variety of goods were on sale, including sheepskins, rocking chairs and tartan sweaters.
One stall owner said: “The weather has been fantastic and there is a great atmosphere here. Business has been really good.”
Annabella Tosh, who visited the festival on Friday with her two sisters and daughter, said: “We arrived early and it has been wonderful. We’ve bought one or two things and the 7.2% cider is delicious.”
For those who needed more energy to sample all the stalls on offer, vendors offered a huge range of culinary treats, including Arbroath smokies, buffalo burgers and black pudding.
Highland dancers did battle in the popular competition over the weekend, while bands such as Havana Swing, Boogalusa and Baldragon Soul Band kept the festival moving.
For veg fans, the National Vegetable Society of Scotland hosted their branch championships.
Youngsters were not to be left out, with a children’s marquee, which was based on the Year of Natural Scotland 2013 and featured a wild flower meadow as a central display.
Dundee City Council’s environment convener Craig Melville said: “The 2013 Flower and Food festival has been a tremendous success. Attendance and entries were up compared to previous years.
“The weather which threatened on Friday behaved itself ensuring Camperdown Park was bathed in sunshine for much of Saturday and Sunday.”
He also paid tribute to the exhibitors, trade and craft, the organisers and the public for their continued support for the festival.