THE 2002 York Festival of Food and Drink could have been the busiest in its six-year history, organisers said today.

Festival spokeswoman Annette Oliver said: "It's too early to have official figures, but the general feel was that this has been the busiest yet."

The sixth festival held in the city came to a close yesterday.

During the final weekend TV celebrity Jeremy Spake experienced the less pleasant side of the food business.

The star of BBC's The Toughest Jobs In Britain was shown the kitchens of the Dean Court Hotel - and told to do the washing up.

Jeremy was staying at the hotel while appearing at the festival, and organisers asked him to take on his TV role of testing out some of Britain's worst occupations.

David Brooks, the hotel's general manager, said: "Jeremy was booked in as a guest, and our regular washer-up was late. He needs to speed up a little bit if he wants a full-time job."

Jeremy took to the stage of the festival food theatre to prepare Yorkshire dishes, and present an evening of traditional Russian food.

The festival's closing day yesterday saw a competition to find the finest young chef in York, with Alan Kirkbride of the Ambassador, in The Mount, taking the crown.

Pupils at Burnholme Community College, Millthorpe School and Joseph Rowntree School battled it out to see which team could produce the best meal in the inter-schools challenge.

The competition was won by Joseph Rowntree.

A waiters' race through Parliament Street was won by Sally Mowbray, a waitress from El Piano. She was the first woman to win the competition.

Other events over the weekend included a Bertie Bassett balloon flown over the Eye of York by Cadbury's.

Updated: 11:46 Monday, September 23, 2002