Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
‘I almost got away with it’
The opening of an outdoor food village proved so busy that Sam Lawrie almost landed a free curry from the frazzled staff
Ithink we can all agree that the best thing about summer is sitting in a beer garden sinking a few cold drinks and soaking up the sun. Macknade in Faversham is taking things one step further this year and opening up a whole outdoor food and drink village with pop-up bars, street food stalls and live music.
With free entry and the promise of lots of tasty treats, there’s was no way I was missing the launch of the new Food Village.
We arrived to the sounds of the Beard Conspiracy, a threepiece folk band playing quirky covers of songs like Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand and Creep by Radiohead.
The place was heaving. It looked like half the town had turned up to celebrate opening of this homegrown venture. The stalls were busy serving up crepes, pizzas and burgers, and nowhere was without a queue of hungry customers.
Tucked round the back was the Al Taco truck and, being a big fan of Mexican food, I made a beeline for it.
The menu was pretty authentic - not just your standard burrito, but dishes like
chicken adobada tacos and birria nachos - I went for the meat-free jackfruit carnitas.
As we waited, we joined the line at Wild Box, a pop-up cocktail bar housed inside the rustic barn, complete with hay bales, candles, farmhousestyle tables and fairy lights.
We also had time to visit Time and Tide, a Deal-based
brewery with a bar at the back of the barn stocking lots of options, from IPAS to lagers, and a beer fridge with cans that you could take away.
Sitting at a table with a bottle of Biddenden pear cider, a pint of Angry White Pyjamas IPA and a plate of vegetarian carnitas, it was time to tuck in.
The cider was crisp and sum
mery - and I was assured that the Time and Tide tipple was a decent pint with deliciously fruity notes of pineapple and lime. The jackfruit carnitas looked fantastic, with lots of vibrant colours and textures, and I could tell that the soft taco had been freshly made. It was super flavoursome, although it could’ve maybe
done without the super-sweet pomegranate seeds on top.
We had room for another dish after finishing our drinks but, unfortunately, by around 7.30pm, almost everything had sold out. However, the woman working at the Little Katsu Kitchen called out that, although they’d run out of gyoza, fried rice and sticky tofu, they did have some cauliflower katsu left and, seeing as that was our only option, we thought we might as well give it a go.
The woman running the stall told me it would take around 15 minutes as her kitchen partner had called in sick so it had been a very hectic first day. She was so run off her feet she almost forgot to charge me!
Thankfully, it was worth the wait (and the money). A beautiful dish of piping hot katsu cauliflower, fluffy white rice and pickled vegetables was presented with a big, if slightly exhausted, smile. It tasted similar to what you’d get in a much-loved Japanese chain - you know the one, with the long benches and even longer queues.
Anyway, the curry sauce was mildly spiced, the cauliflower crispy and the vegetables added a nice crunch. All in all, no complaints there.
The atmosphere was great, with good music and busy crowds giving it a fun, relaxed vibe. It’s not cheap, but it’s all local produce, independent businesses and has a real community feel and, for me, that’s the sort of thing worth shelling out for every once in a while.