Toasting another glorious Foodies Festival at Brighton's Preston Park

The festival opened in glorious sunshine on Saturday on the buzziest weekend in the city’s calendar as the Brighton Festival also got underway.

Chefs appearing on the opening day included Great British Bake Off winner Matty Edgell and Nigel Brown, hosting his International Cook School.

The music stage was headlined by The Voice star Pixie Lott, topping a bill that included Nick Edwards and a classic covers set from Esme.

For many though, the main attraction was simply to sit around in the sun sampling the huge variety of food on offer or enjoying a cheeky cocktail (served in a pineapple for those seeking the ultimate holiday vibe.)

Our ever-adventurous 14-year-old surveyed the vast offering of international cuisine, pondering whether to sample Argentinian, Brazilian or maybe Portuguese…before inevitably settling on a pot of macaroni cheese.

His younger sister was a tad more adventurous, opting for a Korean corn dog while I also played it relatively safe with an Indian vegetarian feast.

I made up for my conservative food choice though by gamely working my way through the various alcoholic options, including a mango sour from the Mad Squirrel Brewery, a spiced jalapeno margarita, some gin fizzes and a selection of craft ales.

It gave me the perfect excuse to avoid the fairground rides for once - and the £28 it would have set me back for the four of us to have a three minute spin.

Headliner Pixie Lott proved to be a popular choice,, attracting a young and enthusiastic crowd - many of whom knew every word. (So much so that one fan brought his own microphone to sing along.)

The fun continued on Sunday and Monday, albeit with cooler weather and a smattering of rain on the final day.

Headliners on Sunday were The Wanted 2.0 - the current incarnation of the chart-topping boy band featuring founder members Max George and Siva Kaneswaran while on Monday Foodies favourites Scouting for Girls rounded off proceedings.

The Foodies Festival will make stops across the county over the coming weeks including Cardiff, London, St Albans, Guildford, Chelmsford and Cambridge. Full details are on the festival website.