The Best Food Festivals Across The UK This Summer

The Best Food Festivals Across The UK This Summer

If you’re a foodie, what better way to spend a summer’s day than tasting your way around a food festival? From cookery demos to Michelin-starred feasts, chef meet-and-greets to drive-in-and-dine experiences, here are ten of the best British events combining fun and flavour this summer…
Photography: TASTEOFLONDON

Pub In The Park, Various locations

Tom Kerridge’s annual food festival is back on the road this year. Each of the eight weekends will play host to Tom’s two Michelin-starred pubs, The Hand & Flowers and The Coach, plus a selection of other top UK restaurants and Michelin-starred chefs, who will be serving their most popular dishes across the weekend. Every event will celebrate the very best food the country has to offer, combined with great live music, chef demonstrations, top quality shopping and family-friendly festivities. Music across the festivals will include Kaiser Chiefs, Gabrielle, Basement Jaxx, Jade Bird and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Bath (18th-20th June), Dulwich (25th- 27th June), Warwick (2nd-4th July), Tunbridge Wells (9th-11th July), Chichester (24th-25th July) Chiswick (3rd-4th September), St Albans (10th-12th September) and Marlow (16th-19th September).

Visit PubInTheParkUK.com

Taste of London, London

This London mainstay offers guests the chance to dine in some of the world’s most exclusive kitchens, all in one spot. And this year, the event will take place over two long weekends rather than one. Across the ten days, guests will be able to sample signature dishes from over 30 of London’s latest, greatest and most exciting restaurants, as well as off-menu items created exclusively for Taste. Make sure to book ahead for wine tastings, workshops and cooking demonstrations – sign up to the mailing list for exclusive pre-sale access on Wednesday 28th April, 48-hours ahead of general release.

Regent’s Park, London; 7th-11th and 14th-18th July

Visit London.TasteFestivals.com

Taste of London
Taste of London
Meatopia: On Fire
Meatopia: On Fire

The Al Fresco Theatre Drive-In, Various locations

New for this year, The Alfresco Theatre Drive-In will be touring six locations across the UK. On the food front, The Alfresco Diner will be serving up one-off dishes from star chefs Tom Kerridge, Rick Stein, Atul Kochhar, Paul Ainsworth and Jason Atherton. Dishes included Tom’s smoked applewood cheeseburger, Paul’s slow-roast pork burger with crackling, Atul’s chicken malabar curry served with naan and kachumber salad, Jason’s picnic box and Rick panzanella salad with smoked mackerel pâté, sourdough and bread-and-butter pickles – all of which can be enjoyed in front of live comedy, music and classic films.

Tunbridge Wells  (28th April-3rd May; Bath  (6th-9th May); Henley & Marlow (12th-16th May); Warwick (9th-23rd May); St Albans (2nd-6th June); West London (9th-13th June)

Visit TheAlFrescoTheatre.co.uk

Meatopia: On Fire, London

A highlight in our calendar, Meatopia brings together the very best BBQ chefs for a full-on weekend of smoking, grilling and charring. Across the event, over 60 different cooks will set London’s Tobacco Dock ablaze with food, drink and music as the meat masters showcase both technique and dishes – ‘meatbucks’ will be on hand for visitors to sample the goods. This year’s chef names are yet to be announced, so watch this space.

Tobacco Dock, London; 3rd-5th September

Visit Meatopia.co.uk

Big Feastival, Oxfordshire

Blur bassist and cheesemonger Alex James’s annual festival is arguably one of the best at getting the balance between food and music bang on. Aside from the Alex James Cheese Hub, chefs in attendance will include Skye McAlpine, Theo Randall, Gizzi Erskine, James Knappet, Romy Gill and Steven Lamb, while Sigala, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Rag’n’Bone Man, Zara Larsson, Ella Eyre and All Saints will take to the main stage. Designed with families in mind, the M&S Little Cooks Kitchen will provide an opportunity for children to learn about food and get hands-on with some picking in The Allotment and cooking in the kitchen.

Kingham, Oxfordshire; 27th-29th August

Visit TheBigFeastival.com

Big Feastival
Big Feastival
Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival
Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival

Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival, Suffolk

This celebration of Suffolk’s thriving food and drink scene takes place in the beautiful setting of Snape Maltings, next to the River Alde and close to the Suffolk coast. Here, over 100 local producers gather to sell their produce including raw milk, organic vegetables, sourdough bread, award-winning beer and spirits from Adnams, cyder from Aspall and delicious street food. One for true foodies.

Snape Maltings, Suffolk; 25th-26th September

Visit AldeburghFoodAndDrink.co.uk

Summer Camp by The Good Life Experience, Wales

The Good Life Experience, from co-founder Cerys Matthews, is an annual celebration of art that incorporates foraging, campfire cooking sessions with world-class chefs and daily. This year, the festival is looking a little different: Summer Camp offers the chance to escape into nature across three weekends in July. Days will be spent in the company of world experts in outdoor craft and nature who will be giving talks, leading expeditions and running workshops, while evenings will be spent around the campfire. There will be something for everyone – think wild swimming, historical tours, wellness activities, runs, dog walks, tennis and paddle boarding. The family friendly event takes place in the historic and setting of the Hawarden Estate, against the backdrop of two castles.

Hawarden, Wales; 9th-26th July

Visit TheGoodLifeExperience.co.uk

Film & Food Fest, Various locations

The UK’s biggest touring outdoor cinema company, Adventure Cinema, has announced Film & Food Fest: a new touring festival for summer 2021. Visiting 15 major city parks across the UK, the socially spacious festival will be the first event of its kind, featuring four days of outdoor cinema with classic movies and recent releases, stand-up comedy from some of the UK’s best-loved comedians, local street food from each city and short films from regional filmmakers in each location. 

Cardiff (17th-20th June), Newcastle (24th-27th June), Leicester (1st-4th July), Swansea (8th-11th July), Nottingham (15th-18th July), North London (22nd-25th July), Huddersfield (29th July-1st August), Bristol (5th-8th August), Liverpool (12th-15th August), Bournemouth (19th-22nd August), South London (26th-29th August), Leeds (2nd-5th September), Wolverhampton (9th-12th September), Northampton (16th-19th September), Manchester (23rd-26th September)

Visit FilmAndFoodFest.com

Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival
Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival
Nyetimber Dorset Food Festival
Nyetimber Dorset Food Festival

Malton Food Lovers Festival, Yorkshire

One of the UK’s biggest free food events, the Malton Food Lovers Festival returns to the Yorkshire market town in 2021 following a hiatus during the national lockdown last summer. Fuelled by popular demand, the 12th festival will run over three days over the bank holiday weekend. With the promise of an extra day’s festivities, the 2021 edition is set to be the biggest yet, welcoming food and drink fans in their thousands to try produce from hundreds of independent and artisan producers from across Yorkshire. There will also be street food from around the globe as well as talks, tastings and demonstrations from the country’s top culinary talent, live music and family entertainment.  

Malton, Yorkshire; 28th-30th August

Visit VisitMalton.com

Nyetimber Dorset Food Festival, Dorset

The Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival is set to return to Weymouth’s shores this year, later than usual on 11th and 12th September. This much-loved event – Europe’s largest seafood festival – attracts visitors to the Jurassic coast to enjoy the sunshine, a glass (or bottle) of fabulous Nyetimber English sparkling wine and, of course, amazing seafood. Alongside chef demonstrations, live music and street food, the organisers are also looking to add new features, such as a chill-out zone, a green seas initiative and water displays.

Weymouth, Dorset; 11th-12th September

Visit DorsetSeafood.co.uk

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