Wales’ biggest and best loved food festival returns this weekend (18 – 20 September), and was opened on Friday night by man of the moment, Chef Tom Kerridge.

The two Michelin-starred chef opened the 2015 Festival with an exclusive sneak-peek into his brand new book, Tom’s Table: My Favourite Everyday Recipes, released next week. For the first event of the Festival, Tom was in conversation with the Telegraph’s Xanthe Clay, speaking to a 300 strong room at the historic Borough Theatre in the market town of Abergavenny.

Renowned food writer, Xanthe, had the chance to talk to Tom about his third cookbook, Tom’s Table: My Favourite Everyday Recipes and discover the inspiration behind it.

Tom Kerridge said: “I’m delighted to be back in Abergavenny and honoured to be opening the Festival.”

Heather Myers, Chief Executive of the Festival said: “We’re overwhelmed by the line up we have been able to put together for this weekend and tonight was the perfect start.

“We were absolutely delighted to have Tom join us to open our Festival and share his stories with us, giving us a little insight into his work and passions.

“As we expected, his talk was a complete sell-out and the atmosphere was fantastic. We can’t wait for the full programme to kick off tomorrow and welcome thousands of people to our Festival.”

There is ticket availability to masterclasses, talks and chef demonstrations during the weekend, as well as general entry wristbands which let you explore the market venues and sample from over 200 producers from Wales and beyond. Tickets can be purchased from the Festival Box Offices on site in Abergavenny.

Speaking at the official launch of the festival on Saturday morning, chairman Melanie Doel said that she had heard Abergavenny described as the ’Mecca for foodies while chef and festival veteran Cyrus Todiwala paid tribute to the town and the festival’s family feel.