Food plays a big part in this year’s Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival.

One traditional festival highlight is the sumptuous three-course festival feast in Christ Church’s magnificent Hall, which takes place on Saturday, April 5 at 7pm. Fine wine, great food and sparkling conversation are on the menu, as brilliant wit Gyles Brandreth and Joanne Harris entertain diners with stories.

Elsewhere, you can hear Steven Berkoff talk about his love affair with gastronomy in My Life in Food on Sunday, April 6 at 12pm; listen to Kate Colquhoun on her book Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking (Wednesday, Day-Lewis April 2, 10.30am); discuss Italian cuisine with cookery writer Tamasin Day-Lewis, above, in Cardinal Wolsey’s imposing kitchens at Christ Church (Friday, April 4, 3pm); or join Sophie Grigson, Paul Levy, Jill Norman and Donald Sloan as they debate the cultural value of food writing (Saturday, April 5, 2pm).

There are opportunities to eat as well as talk. You can lunch with curry aficionado Pat Chapman at Aziz Pandesia restaurant on Wednesday, April 2 at 12pm; dine with Mark Tully on Thursday, April 3 at 7.30pm, and with Martin Bell on Friday, April 4 at 7.30pm; or enjoy a two-course carvery lunch in Christ Church on Sunday, April 6.

OXFORD: WHERE TO STAY AND HOW TO BOOK

This year’s Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival runs at Christ Church from Monday, March 31 to Sunday, April 6. To get a flavour of the festival, and to immerse yourself fully in the atmosphere of Christ Church, you can stay at the college, either by booking individual rooms for a starting price of £53 per night, B&B, or by taking advantage of our two-night festival packages, available exclusively to Sunday Times readers:

March 31-April 1: accommodation and breakfast at Christ Church, plus tickets to see Sebastian Faulks, Clarissa Eden, Oliver James and Rita Carter. Prices from £130.

April 2-3: accommodation and breakfast at Christ Church, plus tickets to see Seamus Murphy discussing Afghanistan with Anthony Loyd; the Penguin readers’ evening with Catherine Bailey, Jane Johnson and Jeremy Page; Dragons’ Den judge Peter Jones; Mark Tully; and Adam Mars-Jones talking to Margaret Drabble. Prices from £137.

To book your stay, call 01865 286848/286877 or e-mail festival@chch.ox.ac.uk.

BOOKING TICKETS

To book tickets for events at the festival, go online at www.ticketsoxford.com (24hr booking until March 31 at 10am) or telephone 0870 343 1001.

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