The three best food festivals in December
DECEMBER’S TRAVEL HOT SPOTS
Even those food festivals and farmers’ markets that don’t sell themselves as festive events tend to come draped with tinsel and trimmed with holly in December, so get ready to embrace the Christmas cheer. Here are three of our favourite food festivals in the UK this month
1ABERGAVENNY CHRISTMAS FOOD & DRINK FAIR Hot on the heels of the town’s main September food festival, this annual festive fair is a seasonal must-do for dedicated food lovers. Taking place on 13 December, expect more than 90 producers selling cheeses, meats, drinks and cakes. Add in Christmas recipe demos, carol singing, family-friendly food classes and seasonal cocktail workshops, and you have a recipe for the perfect preCrimbo food festival. abergavennyfoodfestival.com THE WINTER FAIR Setting up stall in Ardingley, West Sussex, on 5 and 6 December, this celebration of the coldest season should warm your festive cockles. Run in conjunction with the South of England Agricultural Society, the big attraction here is a market featuring over 100 food and drink producers, many of
2The popularity of The Marksman’s beef and barley bun across social media this year means you meet it with the same jarring familiarity that comes with seeing a celebrity in real life. The neat dome of the bun is in the same pillowy style as a Chinese char siu, but within are tried and tested British flavours.The beef is slow-braised and finely chopped, and carries all those hours of cooking in its savoury depth. A light snow of horseradish overlays the bun’s glaze, and a dollop of cream, also made from the fiery root, is mopped up by the doughy bun.This is the perfect bar snack, best enjoyed with a light ale. marksmanpublichouse.com
whom are from the local area. Street food trucks and stalls will also be part of the festivities (vendors range from Fine & Scandi’s hot dogs to Bocaface’s patatas bravas, Sussex Lamb’s burgers and winter cocktails from the Bug Bar), as will live music. foodrockssouth.co.uk FOODIES FESTIVAL One of three Foodies Festivals taking place this season (the other two are in Edinburgh and London), the Harrogate version runs from 11 to 13 December. From TV favourite Murray Wilson and Luis Troyano, to Rachel Green and Saira Hamilton, a long line-up of guest chefs will be demonstrating techniques and ingredients (don’t overdo it in the Champagne Ski Bar or Gin Theatre beforehand), while an Artisan Christmas Market, with over 150 producers, means culinary stocking fillers are all sewn-up. foodiesfestival.com
3Follow O on Instagram to see our pick of must-order restaurant dishes, behind-the-scenes photoshoots and test-kitchen snapshots.