For years, festival food meant a limp burger eaten in a muddy field while trying not to spill warm cider on your shoes. But increasingly, music festivals are putting just as much thought into the menu as the line-up.
“Sometimes food is an afterthought at these things; it’s usually a bit of sustenance so you can carry on,” says Ash Valenzuela-Heeger, chef-owner of Birmingham restaurant Riverine Rabbit. This year, she’ll put on a forest feast at Wilderness Festival, bringing her Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognised small plates to a table of guests who have paid extra for the experience. “I’m from South Africa, so cooking over an open fire for a table of guests in the woods is my dream.” Her name appears on the Wilderness line-up alongside the likes of Carl Cox and Groove Armada, with other chefs including Rochelle Canteen’s Margot Henderson and The Camberwell Arms’s Mike Davies, who will serve up 450 Sunday roasts for weary revellers on the last day.
Wilderness isn’t alone in elevating chefs to festival line-ups. “There’s something nice about the work that goes into food being on the same platform as an artist,” says Albert Smith, head chef at Smoking Goat, who will be sizzling Thai food over fire at the first-ever Back of House festival in Essex this summer.
Here is a handful of festivals where chef line-ups rival that of the main stage:
Pub in the Park, Buckinghamshire
Festival founder and pub doyen Tom Kerridge may have stepped back from Pub in the Park, but this year’s line-up, blending crowd-pleasing music acts and top chefs, looks as tasty as ever. Jools Holland, Razorlight and Craig David will provide the tunes, while big-name chefs will do live cooking demonstrations and Q&As, including Raymond Blanc (chef at the two Michelin-starred Le Manoir aux Quant’ Saisons) and live fire chef and television personality Adam Purnell. It’s a great opportunity to visit pop-up versions of major restaurants, including Six by Nico and The Star Inn. May 14 to 17.
pubintheparkuk.com
Rock Oyster, Cornwall
Locally caught fish, served on a long-table banquet on the Cornish coastline, is what Rock Oyster promises this year. The festival’s Long Table Banquets (an add-on to the ticket price) have been curated by Cornwall-based catering company Woodfired Canteen, with a leading chef cooking each day. Jack Stein (Rick Stein Restaurants) will put on a Sunday feast, featuring roasted seabass with fennel and preserved lemon, and finished with Cornish strawberries and cream with sweet white miso and nori. Groove Armada will host a DJ set to bring back flavours of the noughties, Kool and the Gang might knock out Get Down On It and there are some fresh new faces like neo-soul artist Nectar Woode. July 23 to 26.
rockoysterfestival.co.uk
Wilderness, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire’s deer-dotted Cornbury Park nature reserve will become a four-day choose-your own-adventure experience this summer. The festival brands the weekend as “wholesome hedonism”, with decadent banquets, cabaret nights, wild swimming, and a seriously good line-up including The Last Dinner Party, Scissor Sisters and Carl Cox. Guests will be well-fed by the likes of South African-born, Birmingham-based chef Ash Valenzuela-Heeger, Margot Henderson and Mike Davies. July 30 to August 2.
wildernessfestival.com
Back of House, Essex
This new festival, set in the grounds of a Georgian country major, aims to break down the walls between kitchen and dancefloor. An open kitchen will form the centrepiece of Back of House: In The Restaurant will be a circular spectacle seeing rising stars cook back-to-back, as well as big chef headliners, including Smoking Goat head chef Albert Smith, and Elliot Hashtroudi from Borough’s much-loved French bistro Camille. Organisers promise only high-grade treats from top chefs, and a wine shop-slash-listening bar for added luxury. DJs roll in after service, and there’s a sauna and plunge pool on offer for those that love a nervous system reset. August 14 to 16.
backofhousefestival.com
Big Feastival, Oxfordshire
Blur bassist Alex James will turn his 200-acre Cotswolds farm into a dancefloor at his annual food-meets-music festival. Basement Jaxx and The Streets headline the main stage, and DJs will keep the atmosphere high over at Alex James’ Cheese Hub. What’s with the name? Alex James makes his own blue cheese, aptly called Blue Monday. Over at the Big Kitchen, a line-up of chefs will host demos, including Tom Barnes from leading Manchester restaurant Skof and acclaimed chef Sally Abé, who’s soon to open her new restaurant in Hackney. August 28 to 30.
bigfeastival.com
