UK Food Festivals this summer
Whether you’re hankering for savvy new recipes or tasty street-food, looking to spot a celebrity-chef or kick back and enjoy some good old fashioned foodie entertainment, food festivals are the all-sizzling places to be this summer. If the sea of delicious stalls, serving up cutesy local produce, rustic takeaways and stunning one-off dishes wasn’t enough, there’s also the added benefit of that summer sunshine. So if you fancy getting your deck chair out, beer in hand with the best of the UK’s food scene at your feet, then tuck into our big list of the top UK Food Festivals this summer!
Scarborough Seafest
Back for it’s 19th year on Scarborough’s West Pier, the Scarborough Seafest Maritime Festival is looking better than ever. Over the weekend of 21st – 23rd July, there will be mouth- watering street food stalls and the ever popular Scarborough Hospitality Food Theatre featuring live cookery demonstrations by celebrated Yorkshire chefs! While you sip your delightfully brewed ale from The Great Yorkshire Brewery Ale tent, you can enjoy live music and a spectacular firework display on the Saturday night. Kids will be kept suitably busy, with entertainment ranging from dinosaurs to rock-pools, stone sculptures to beach doodling. And the best part? The whole thing is completely FREE!
Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival
Same weekend, same county, but an altogether less mari-time’y festival, the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival has upped the stakes this summer. Ed Sheeran and Adele’s schedules may have been slightly on the busy side, but the festival have two top tribute acts to fill the stage! Not to mention amazing cookery demonstrations, sky-high shopping potential and loads of free activities for the kids. If you find yourself at Funkirk Farm in Skipton across the 22nd– 23rd July, you might just run into celebrity chefs James Martin & John Torode, headlining the celebrity cooking theatre! Tickets are not available on the gate so make sure to book in advance.
Cardiff Food Festival
The city’s original celebration of all Welsh produce has to offer, the Cardiff Food Festival is a free entry fiesta taking place at Roald Dahl Plass (Cardiff Bay’s public plaza named after Cardiff-born author) this July 14-16th. With over 100 local, national and international producers showcasing what they’ve got, it’s a huge event guaranteed to tickle your taste buds. Explore the Producers Fayre, the Street Food Piazza and the Farmers’ Market to get your hands on artisan breads, organic cheeses and homemade liqueurs! Last but not least? Head to the Champagne Bar on the water’s edge for a luxurious tipple!
Elvaston Castle Food & Drink Festival
Set in one of England’s most beautiful castles, the Elvaston Castle Food and Drink Festival is Derbyshire’s premiere foodie fest. It’s a full weekend (15th – 16th July) of yummy food, beers from around the world, silky wines and Champagnes. There’s a dedicated children’s area to keep the little ones amused and a live music stage packed with musical talent throughout the day. And then’s the competition to end all competitions: Man V Cake, always a popular one, especially for the winner! Another free event, it’s just one reason to get yourself Derbyshire this July!
PieFest
So no one likes a pie to the face, but you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t like pies down the hatch! That’s why on the 29-30 July, visitors will flock to the UK Capital of Pies – Leicestershire’s Melton Mowbray for the PieFest. Home to theYe Olde Pork Pie Shoppe and a deep love of the humble pie, Melton Mowbray’s famous fest means you’ll get to meet the UK’s awarding-winning pie makers and past Supreme Champions of the British Pie Awards. There will even be a workshop on how to make the perfect pie – incase you didn’t know! The Pie Theatre programme also includes talks on How to Rate a Pie and a Pie Panel to ease your pie and pastry woes. Cheap tickets and the kids go free!
Isle of Wight Garlic Festival
What’s that smell? It’s the rich, familiar scent of garlic, blustering from the Isle of Wight – the hosts of the infamous Isle of Wight Garlic Festival. Starting back in the 1980s as a little event to raise funds for a local school, now it attracts tens of thousands of thousands, who will this year descend upon the island’s Fighting Cocks Crossroads across the 19-20th August for their taste of the action. Inspired by the garlic fresh from the island’s award-winning Garlic Farm, you don’t need to like garlic to enjoy this fest, described often as having a late ’60s music festival-meets-country fair vibe. The theatre kitchen has an exciting lineup of TV stars, while the giant garlic marquee offers up garlic fudge, ice cream, popcorn, biscuits, scones, mushrooms and sweetcorn and more! For the bargain hunters, the online ticket price is one pound cheaper than prices on the gate.
The Nottingham Food And Drink Festival
Revelling in its fourth year at Wollaton Hall, the Nottingham Food And Drink Festival is bringing its foodie flair to the people this 12-13 August. The festival’s ‘Super Theatre’ is getting ready to host a series of entertaining live demonstrations, with a superb line up of esteemed chefs (Theo Randall, Matt Tebbutt and Edd Kimber from GBBO)/ You’ll find the real East Midland ales over at the Real Ale Tent and delicious seafood platters over at the pop-up Fruit De Mer restaurant. For live music, head to the piazza area!
