When we think of food at music festivals, the first thing that usually comes to our mind is overpriced greasy burgers and soggy chips. The days of bad food at festivals could be now long gone, as many of them have been offering a wide variety of delicious food, with stalls selling posh paella to gourmet sausages and traditional wood fired pizzas. Festivals have been offering so much more at their events, which has been making festival goers excited about eating!
In last weekend’s Observer New Review, Johnny Davis stated that during the peak festival season, there isn’t a single festival free weekend. A strong line up is one of the ways to make a festival stand apart from the others, but it can’t always be relied upon, even with huge acts performing. This is where food can come in.
This summer, festival and food fun has already spoilt Londoners. There have been many festivals including, Jamie Oliver’s The Big Feastival on Clapham Common, offering music acts such as the Mystery Jets, Athlete and Soul II Soul. Even though this was a music festival, food was also an important part of the event. As well as pop up restaurants from Jamie’s Fifteen and Barbecoa, there was Marylebone High Street’s The Providores, East Dulwich’s Franklins and Locanda Locatelli.
Feedback from The Big Feastival was great, which questioned the need to cater for just foodies e.g. The Taste of London festival. 
Another example of a festival with great food is last weekend’s Field day which offered Clapham’s monthly Venn Street market cooking up some artisan food such as risotto balls and free range burgers from Holy Cow. There was Mexican food from Daddy Donkey’s Kick-ass Mexican Grill and a few more food stalls turned up the next day to the mini festival after acquiring restaurant insurance UK, like Meateasy Burger Truck and Apple Cart.
Camp Bestival, the family friendly festival in Dorset, has played host to a choice of delicious food for festival goers. Food workshops and food, run by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, has been pitched up at the festival for the last three years, and there was also a smaller marquee offering yummy food at surprisingly uninflated prices. There was also a bespoke cocktail bar, offering different and wonderful ingredients in their drinks, for those who wanted to escape the crowds and kids.
With the popularity of pop up restaurants, home restaurants and supper clubs in Britain, music festivals are well placed to follow the trend!
Have you been to any festivals this summer? If so, what did you think of the food offered? Let us know!
