Four UK Food Festivals to Visit in 2018
If there are two things in life that we love, they’re good food and a laid-back festival vibe. Lucky for us, then, that food festivals – a perfect marriage of our two favourites – are all the rage right now, with the best ones spread across the length and breadth of the UK. Looking for spectacular street food, mouth-watering wines and culinary masterclasses from some of the biggest celebrity chefs around? Then here are just four of the many fantastic venues that we’d recommend.
The London Halal Food Festival
One of our favourite things about being British is our fantastically multicultural society and we always look forward to trying foods from different countries and cultures. That’s why this London-based event is one of our favourite food festivals. Taking place on 11th and 12th August at Tobacco Dock, it showcases over 30 different types of halal cuisine – all of them equally delicious. If the food alone isn’t enough to entice you down to the capital, there are also live cooking demonstrations, plenty of pop-up bars and lots of interesting people to meet and socialise with. It’s like someone found out all our favourite things and gathered them together in one place.
Port Eliot Festival
Source: Facebook via Port Eliot Festival
If you’re looking for an event a little earlier in the year, Port Eliot might be your perfect bet. Slated to take place between the 26th and 29th July, it will set-up shop on the 6,000-acre estate of Port Eliot House in Cornwall, the historic seat of Lord and Lady St Germans. Offering an unashamedly bohemian vibe, this celebration of food, drink and art focuses on serving up sumptuous street food and premier pies. But it also hosts amazing demonstrations from an array of world-renowned chefs, Anthony Warner, Jack Stein and Yasmin Khan among them. Taking place in the mansion’s Georgian kitchens, these culinary tours de force are the ultimate treat for foodies everywhere.
The Big Feastival
Planning on being in or near the Cotswolds around the 24th to 26th August? If so, The Big Feastival should be your go-to option. Entering into its seventh year, this long-established food festival is held at the farm of Blur bassist Alex James – a self-confessed foodie. With a programme that includes everything from a Cheese Hub run by the host himself to a Caribbean Rum Shack and Veuve Cliquot VIP lounge, you can kick-back and relax to the sound of live music from Paloma Faith and Mel C, with a full tummy and a happy heart.
The Ludlow Food Festival
Source: Facebook via Ludlow Food Festival
As we head into September, we’re likely to be enjoying the last of the summer sunshine. What better way to soak it up than by visiting the Ludlow Food Festival? Scheduled for 7th to 9th of the month, this eating extravaganza will see over 160 exhibitors set up their stalls in the grounds of Ludlow Castle, the one-time home of Queen Catherine of Aragon. Travelling from all around the Welsh Marches to be there, these talented individuals will include everyone from cheesemongers to winemakers, brewers and bakers, each of them well-versed in making incredible food and drink. There’s even a Fire & Feast event included in this year’s itinerary, to celebrate the very best of outdoor cooking.
How will you ever pick between them?
