A Masterchef finalist and an events organiser are setting off on a week-long search for Yorkshire’s finest food and drink aboard a retro-style Volkswagen camper van.

Friends Tom Rennolds and Jonny Ross will hit the road on Monday to travel the length and breadth of Yorkshire – and sample the region’s top tastes and tipples and bring them to Ilkley.

Former plasterer, Tom, 26, who made it to the final three of the prestigious TV cooking competition, was recently adopted by tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire as patron to promote Yorkshire’s restaurants, chefs and food producers.

Now he has teamed up with Addingham musician and wedding organiser, Jonny Ross – who he met while playing for Addingham Football Club – to stage a Best of Yorkshire Food Festival at Ilkley’s King’s Hall in July.

The road trip, which is being filmed, will help publicise the event in Ilkley on July 27 and 29, as well as give them the chance to familiarise themselves with Yorkshire’s culinary highlights.

The pair, who will have their own driver, will be meeting food producers around the region, and trying out the finest Yorkshire has to offer.

Jonny said: “We’ll visit more than 100 businesses during the week. We’re going to three breweries, Michelin-starred restaurants, Betty’s, cake shops and butchers. We’re going to learn to make sausages and cook a Yorkshire breakfast. We’re going to South Yorkshire to see an Italian man who goes into the woods to pick wild mushrooms, and we’ll be visiting a rapeseed farm.”

He admits he is concerned that he could end up having too much of a good thing next week, with all the food and drink on offer.

The duo plans to post regular updates online about their trip online.

Their website, bestofyorkshirefood. co.uk, is expected to go live shortly, and they plan to tweet about their progress through the week on Twitter.