10 Food & Drink Festivals to Get Excited About This Summer

Summer is here, the sun is out, and the kids are about to be set free from school for the holidays, nagging you to make sure every precious week of freedom is jam-packed with fun and unforgettable moments that will make all their mates green with envy come September.

If you’re tired of trips to the beach every weekend, spending too much money on admission to theme parks, or want something a little more exciting than a picnic in the park, food festivals are an inexpensive way to keep the entire family happy this summer. Your kids will be won over by the fun fairs, face painting, and entertainment, while you’ll have fields full of food stalls, bars, and live music to keep you more than happy.

To help ensure you don’t waste hours of your summer searching for a food festival worthy of your time and money this season, here at Fed Up & Drunk, we’ve rounded up 10 of our favourites taking place all across the UK.

Also, be sure to visit our website FoodFestivalFinder.co.uk to find even more fantastic foodie festivals taking place near you.

Sandringham Food & Drink Festival – August 3rd to August 4th

Now in its fifth year, Living Heritage Events’ Sandringham Food and Drink Festival returns to Sandringham Estate on Saturday 3rd August to Sunday 4th August for what is set to be a fantastic weekend of events.

The second show of an annual four show series of events, the festival brings a touch of summertime to Sandringham, with al fresco dining, masterclasses, artisan food and drink, music, fun, and hopefully laughter. Bring your family for a great day out and eat, drink, and be merry.

At this year’s Sandringham Food & Drink Festival, celebrity chefs include Antony Worrall Thompson, renowned chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author, and Galton Blackiston, a Michelin-starred chef who has appeared on Anglia Television, Gary Rhodes Food Heroes, Market Kitchen, Great British Menu and is a regular on Saturday Kitchen with James Martin (BBC). Both will be supported by great specialist chefs on the smaller Roadshow stage.

There will also be plenty of food and drink producers in the food halls, fantastic street food, live music, a real ale marquee, a crafts corner, and tons of children’s entertainment.

Menai Food Festival – August 3rd to August 4th

Held on the recreation field and surrounding areas in Menai Bridge, Anglesey, and following on from the huge success of the inaugural Menai Food Festival which saw thousands of people from all over visit to enjoy fantastic food and great live music, the festival returns this August 3rd to August 4th as a two-day event.

Organised by the same company that organises the popular Beaumaris Food Festival, the festival promises to be even better than ever this year, with even more food and drink producers, crafts stalls, and street food stands to explore. There will also be fantastic live music performed all weekend and a funfair on site to keep the little ones entertained.

Middlesex Food Festival – August 3rd to August 4th

From 3rd August to 4th August this summer, Middlesex Food Festival returns to Lower Sunbury for what is bound to be a brilliant two days jam-packed full of foodie attractions. With over 60 different food stalls showcasing their products, loads of market traders selling their goods, and a Kids Zone full of fun activities to stop the little ones from getting too bored, the Middlesex Food Festival promises to be fun for all the family this August.

There will also be a demonstration marquee with live demonstrations, tastings and talks taking place all throughout the day. Walk around the show, sample exciting cuisines you’ve never sampled before, and then stop off at the main stage to enjoy a number of entertaining lives acts. To help you get in the festival spirit, the festival will also play host to a number of bars offering various beverages ranging from Champagne to branded larger for everyone to enjoy.

Clitheroe Food Festival 2019 – August 10th

An annual showcase of all the hard work and dedication of food and drink producers in the local area, Clitheroe Food Festival, run in partnership with Ribble Valley Borough Council and the kind sponsorship of many local businesses, has been listed in the Top Ten UK Food Festivals by Eventbrite and for good reason.

Increasing in popularity by several thousand visitors in the last few years, expect fantastic Lancashire produce, inspirational chefs, exciting culinary activities, and great live music for all the family to enjoy. From organic meat and dairy produce made from traditional Lancashire breeds to a feast of fruit and vegetables packed with home-grown, authentic flavours and homemade pastries and pies, if you’re a foodie and you’re in the local area, this is an event that should not be missed.

Nottingham Food & Drink Festival – August 10th to August 11th

The Nottingham Food & Drink Festival returns to Wollaton Park for its 6th year this August, bringing with it a great line up of celebrity and specialists chefs, a scrumptious selection of street food in the well-stocked piazza, and a real ale marquee, along with workshops, children’s entertainment, crafts, and food halls full of great food producers and retailers ensuring an exciting day out for all of the family.

Taking place in a venue with a real WOW factor, the simply stunning Elizabethan country house Wollaton Hall is set in over 500 acres of rolling deer park, grassed wetlands and woodlands, and is home to herds of Red and Fallow Deer.

At this year’s Nottingham Food & Drink Festival, celebrity chefs include Sean Wilson, best known for his 21 years starring in the national flagship soap opera, Coronation Street, who has created his own range of multi-award winning Lancashire cheeses and worked in Michelin star restaurants, and Michelin award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli. Dubbed the nation’s favourite French chef, Jean-Christophe has appeared on a variety of TV programmes and has been a huge favourite at Living Heritage Food Festivals over the past few years. Both will be supported by great specialist chefs on the smaller Roadshow stage.

Smoke & Fire Festival 2019 – August 17th to August 18th

For one special weekend in August, Maldon’s Promenade Park sizzles with the enticing smell and smoke of barbecue.

The biggest and by far the best BBQ festival in East Anglia, The Maldon Smoke & Fire Festival at Promenade Park is a real celebration of the art of cooking with fire and smoke. Supporting the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, this is a great weekend for all the family. Salivate at the aromas of smoked ribs, beef brisket, chicken and corn dogs cooked low and slow as you explore the festival’s array of exciting attractions.

River Cottage Festival – August 24th to August 25th

This August bank holiday weekend, gather all your friends and family and head to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage HQ for a jam-packed festival full of the finest food, live music, masterclasses, and tons of family-friendly festival fun.

Not only will Hugh be at River Cottage Festival, but the event also welcomes Anita Rani, who has been working with Hugh on a new series about plastics for BBC 1 and will be discussing her forthcoming projects on the Garden Stage, and Satish Kumar, a former monk and long-term peace and environment activist. River Cottage regulars including smoking and curing expert Steven Lamb and foraging expert John Wright will also be there.

There will also be a brilliant line-up of bands and musicians including Richard Colburn from the renowned band Belle & Sebastian who will be DJing on Saturday night, and Honeyfeet, a Folk-Hop and Barrelhouse-pop group who have performed main stages at Shambala, Beautiful Days, and Belgium’s Copacobana Festival and have wowed audiences at Glastonbury, Boomtown, Wilderness, Germany’s Kultursommer, Kendal Calling and Bimble Bandana.

Set to be a truly wonderful weekend, visitors can choose from a variety of tickets including Weekend, Day & Gig Night, Daytime, Gig Night, or Luxury Camping tickets, all available to purchase from the River Cottage website.

We Love Hythe Life Food Festival 2019 – August 24th to August 26th

Returning for its 4th year, Hythe’s biggest food festival promises to be better than ever this August with an even bigger line up of events. Back with their immensely popular demonstration tent where tons of Kent’s top chefs will be rustling up a delicious storm of taste sensations and featuring the best in local musical talent and kids entertainment to keep even the fussiest of little ones entertained all weekend, make sure We Love Hythe Life Food Festival is on your calendar this year.

Welcoming back some much-loved favourites and saying hello to some new artisan deliciousness, the festival’s organisers are hand selecting all of their stall holders to guarantee you get a culinary taste sensation at every turn. Transforming the cricket ground where the festival is based into a gastronomic delight of artisan food stands, bring your picnic blankets, family and friends and celebrate the end of the summer the right way together this August 24th to 26th.

Syston Food Gusto Food & Drink Festival – August 25th

Experience the region’s best food and drink on Sunday 25th August at the annual Syston Food Gusto Festival. The first Food Gusto event of the year, the festival is situated in the park in the centre of Syston and is set to play host to a fantastic lineup of producers and products from venison, pies, pickles, pates, farmhouse cheese, preserves, olives, artisan bread, crepes, hand-crafted chocolates and patisseries to local wines, beers, ciders, spirits and more.

Choose from tempting lunch options such as wood-fired pizzas, organic beef burgers, venison and bison, spicy samosas, vegetarian/ vegan dishes, Caribbean BBQ, Indian and Thai, and wash this down with local craft ale and cider, new British cocktails and English wines grown and produced in the Midlands. There will also be a ton of children’s entertainment which includes rides, face painting, a bouncy slide, glitter tattoos and henna tattoos.

Cheam Celebration of Food & Drink – September 15th

With an exceptional reputation in the community as a place for friends and family to come together, the Cheam Celebration of Food & Drink is known for being a free, inclusive, and welcoming event that delivers a delicious opportunity for people from all walks of life in the community and beyond to learn all about food.

Although only in its second year, the festival is a fantastic opportunity for people to look differently at where food comes from and how it is produced, as well as a place to enjoy incredible live entertainment from a number of musical acts including their resident band the Shakeups that will be back and bringing you all the sounds of the 50’s.

After the success of last year’s FREE Kid’s Zone, and per the requests of last year’s many wonderful guests, not only will 2019’s festival be bringing back the kid’s zone, it will also increasing its size, with more workshops, more inflatables, and more funs things for children of all ages. There’s also their popular annual chilli eating competition at 3pm.