Peterborough’s Mac & Cheese Festival Returns This April With Downtown Grand Finale Event
/The cheesy goodness is back as the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) hosts the Mac & Cheese Festival, running from April 1 to April 25.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough DBIA.
This month-long celebration invites residents and visitors to explore a lineup of limited-time mac & cheese features from 20 restaurants, culminating in the Grand Finale Event on April 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Quaker Foods City Square. Attendees can sample dishes from select vendors and watch as a panel of local celebrity judges crowns the 2026 Mac & Cheese Champion.
According to the DBIA, some of the participating restaurants are taking the classic cheesy dish in bold and unexpected directions. Lola’s Cakes and Coffee is offering a Mac and Cheese Tiramisu, the first time a dessert is being served in the festival’s history.
“People are going to ask if there is really macaroni in the tiramisu and the answer is yes. It sounds crazy, but one bite and you’ll be hooked,” says Nino Ante, Lola’s Cakes and Coffee owner. “It’s the dessert adventure you didn’t know you needed. We decided to push the boundaries and make people smile with every bite.”
Throughout April, locals and visitors are encouraged to try as many dishes as possible and vote online for their favourite to determine the People’s Choice Award winner.
Restaurants offering in-store features this year include:
Agave by Imperial
Ashburnham Ale House
The Back 40 Smokehouse
By the Bridge
Cork and Bean
Dreams of Beans
La Mesita
Lola’s Cakes and Coffee
Love You, Mean It
McThirsty’s Pint
Pappas Billiards
The Revy
Bar Vita
Riverside Grill
Sam’s Place Deli
St. Veronus
The Boardwalk Game Lounge
The Railyard Cafe
The Vine (last year’s People’s Choice award winner)
Turnbull Cafe (the Judge’s Choice winner for 2025)
“Our downtown is home to so many passionate entrepreneurs and talented chefs, and this event is a great way to experience that firsthand. Mac and Cheese fest is a great example of what downtown Peterborough is all about” says Nour Mazloum, Executive Director of the Peterborough DBIA. “Showcasing this talent is a large part of how we’re building a vibrant, welcoming downtown people want to return to all year long.”
The contenders for the grand finale event include:
Agave by Imperial
The Back 40 Smokehouse
By the Bridge, La Mesita
Lola’s Cakes and Coffee
The Revy
The Boardwalk Game Lounge
The Vine
Turnbull Cafe
@ptbo_canada The cheesy goodness is back as the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area hosts the Mac & Cheese Festival, running from April 1 to April 25. ##ptbocanada##journalism##fyp##news##macandcheese ♬ Macaroni & Cheese - David Chicken
