Food, glorious food
Food and drink festivals for 2018
LOOKING to try something new? Why not head on down to a food festival this year and try an array of amazing UK food festivals.
There will be festivals suitable for vegans and vegetarians such as the Leicester Vegan Food Festival and for avid meat-lovers, The Chesterfield food festival. Even the most versed of foodies may find food combinations they’ve never come across at Ludlow Food Festival. There will also be festivals that will focus more on spirits like the Hinckley Gin And Tonic festival, while budding wine connoisseurs may want to head to the Nottingham Food And Drink Festival. Read on to see more.
Feast Hinckley Following two events in the town last year, Feast Hinckley returns on August 11 and 12 in Argents Mead bringing food and drink from around the world.
Live music will entertain visitors as they sample foods produced by 38 vendors, including some local artisans and those from a little further afield.
This year’s event will also include a 120ft inflatable assault course, bungee trampolines and other entertainment.
Foods available will include Italian, Caribbean, vegan and vegetarian, pies, toasties, cakes, confectionary and coffee.
Last year’s event was a big hit with thousands of people attending over the two days.
Taking place between 10am-5pm both days, entry is free.
Artisan Cheese Fair, Melton Mowbray Attendees may feel a bit cheesy for going to this food festival, as Melton, the home of the pork pie, will be holding a cheese festival on May 5-6. Expect to see artisan cheeses of all kinds that will go beyond any cheese lover’s imagination.
At the festival, attendees will have a chance to meet and purchase rare cheeses from the creators themselves. The majority of sellers tend to work at small farms who occasionally leave to sell their produce outside of their farm, so this festival is a great opportunity to taste varied kinds of authentic farm produce in one room. Talks, demonstrations and tastings mainly for cheese and chutneys will be there on the day. Aside from cheeses, they will be serving wine, cakes, beers, ice-creams, chutneys and of course, pork pies.
Advance Tickets start at £4. Children under 16 can go free.
For more information, visit the official site http://www. artisancheesefair.co.uk/
Leicester Vegan Festival Leicester’s vegan festival will serve a delicious range of vegan food, from cruelty-free hotdogs to scrumptious vegan cakes. With over 100 stalls, attendees will have plenty to choose from; it would be impossible to not be stuck for choice.
Throughout the day, there will be talks centered around the vegan lifestyle and activities like yoga. Cooking demontrations will be there for those who want to sharpen their culinary skills in the kitchen or want to start veganism but don’t know where to begin. Also, there will be samples to try out and plenty of children’s activities, so kids will always be entertained.
As Leicester is one of the top most vegan-friendly cities, vegans can feel comfortable knowing the city understands the importance of the lifestyle and can guarantee the food will look so tasty, non-vegans will be extremely willing to give things a try. The festival runs on April 21.
Tickets start at £3, VIP tickets are £15, which includes a goody bag, fast-track entry and other free miscellaneous gifts.
For more information, visit the facebook page www.facebook.com/LeicesterVeganFestival/
Nottingham Food & Drink Festival Nottingham’s food and drink festival will have live music playing from local bands throughout the day that attend- ees are free to watch in the middle of the Piazza area.
Or, if they fancy getting stuck into the food side of the festival, they can opt to watch a live demonstration from celebrity chefs instead - line up to be revealed closer to the time of the festival.
Plotted around the Piazza area will be food stands that will sell continental products and local produce.
Real ale from local breweries will be there to try and buy, as well as a wine tasting session run by the Notts and Derby School of Wine. There will also be the Fruit De Mer seafood restaurant where attendees can enjoy seafood platters fresh from the sea.
The entertainment available for the day includes workshops for all ages, a funfair, a puppet show and the Bushtucker trial challenge that’s not for the faint-hearted.
The festival will run from August 11-12. Tickets start at £3 - £8. For more information, visit the official site http://livingheritagefoodfestivals.co.uk/nottingham-2/
Chesterfield Food and
Drink Running for only two years, Chesterfield’s food and drink festival is fairly new. However, they are more than ready to amaze attendees with two days of fun, food, and festive cheer.
They have teamed up with over 50 of the best food and wine traders from the region to create a food festival that will impress and cater to everyone visiting on August 4- 5.
Some of the things to expect at the festival include a cold and raw food market, themed bars, wine and cheese tasting, hot and cold ready to eat foods and talks about food and nutri- tion. There will also be chances to join in a dance demonstration and buy craft goods and clothing.
There will also be live music playing throughout the event.
For the little ones, a whole area will be set aside just for them, where they can choose to have their face painted, go on a donkey ride, stroke animals and get henna tattoos, so Chesterfield will be a fun haven for children to visit too. Entry to the event is free. For more information, visit the official site https://www. chesterfieldfoodanddrink. co.uk/chesterfield-food-anddrink-festiva
Hinckley Gin Festival - The
Gin Nations The well-loved beverage Gin and Tonic will take centre stage at the Hinckley Gin Festival this February 23-24.
Taking place at Hinckley Rugby club on the weekend of the Six Nations, the sporting event sets the theme for this year’s festival.
Over 100 gins and food dishes from each of the six nations - England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy - will be available to attendees.
On arrival, visitors will be given their own 22oz balloon glass and a program of notes
which will be worth keeping as memorabelia.
For those who are not crazy about Gin and Tonic, they have the option of selecting various kinds of drinks at the main bar.
As well as live music, you won’t miss a minute of the action as big screens will be showing matches on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Tickets start at £8. For more information, visit the Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/
events/404843369949914/ Ludlow Food Festival
It will be Ludlow Food Festival’s 24th anniversary this year, which will be located at the picturesque Ludlow castle and its surrounding area.
Ludlow was the Uk’s first food festival and continues to be a popular one, having as many as 18,000 visitors each year.
The festival usually partners with established chefs and TV chefs from the popular tv series ‘The Great British Bake Off’.
Last year, Howard Middleton, Val Stones and Sandy Docherty, all previous contestants from the show, hosted interactive classes in the Bake In Time area.
The festival trades with more than 160 regional producers and prides itself on selling wholesome, fresh, home-style food. Attendees can expect to eat foods like bread and relish -but with a twist. Last year, Bim’s kitchen made African inspired mango and cape gooseberry relish and Swifts made a pesto and walnut loaf.
As well as wide variety of food on offer, there will be a few insightful food related workshops available. It is likely that there will be musical entertainment and a pop-up bookshop this year.
The festival runs from September 7-9. Tickets start at £8 - £120.
For more information, visit the official site http://www. ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/