FOODIES will be flooding into Birmingham over the next four days as the third annual Taste festival returns to town.

Taste of Birmingham kicks off at Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston, tonight with a gala evening at which the winners of the annual restaurant awards will be announced.

Celebrity chefs Aldo Zilli and Antony Worrall Thompson will be among the famous faces at the ceremony.

The fun continues until Sunday with visitors getting the chance to sample signature dishes from Birmingham's top restaurants including Simpsons, Opus, Lasan, Filini Restaurant at Radisson SAS Hotel, Aria at the Hyatt, Hotel Du Vin, The Oriental, Itihaas, Malmaison and Thai Edge plus Ludlow's La Becasse. Dishes on offer will include slow cooked pork cheek, caramelised cauliflower puree and caper and raisin sauce (Simpon's), free range ham hock roulade and parsley mayonnaise (Opus) and masala aloo dosa (Lasan).

And for the first time there will be a French connection.

Lyon chefs Joseph Viola, Laurent Bouvier, Frederic Berthod and Olivier Paget will be preparing three-course menu including crosmequis of foie gras, tomato confit, mango petals and herb salad, dumplings of pike with crayfish tails and red fruit craquant with crystallised mint. There will be cookery demonstrations by leading chefs, a producers' market., a gastro pub corner and the Spice Quarter will showcase the area's diverse ethnic cuisine.

The Jam House will be providing music and Harvey Nicols will be awarding a hamper to the best dressed visitor.

* Tickets for Taste, supported by the Birmingham Mail, start from £12 and can be bought from the box office 0871 230 5581 or through the website www.channel4.com/taste