Festival food
Music festivals abound in the UK and for the past few years we’ve joined friends to pitch our tent in a field all in the name of hanging out and listening to live music. I’ve started a ‘music festival kit list’ as it’s not exactly like normal camping. For a start you park a long way from your tent so you have to carry everything (this can be miles at a big festival like Glastonbury). At Chagstock, the local scout group are available for hire with some handy wheel barrows – but never when you are packing up. Regular festival goers bring an astonishing array of ingenious collapsible carriers on wheels; I saw one last year that turned into a table.
I take my kettle and gas burner and the usual crisps, dips and breakfast making stuff but to be honest you can buy everything on-site. A big part of a festival is the food. No greasy burger vans here. The culture of local talent also seems to extend to the food on offer. I wanted to try everything but due to the abundance of food that the other campers in my group brought with them, I only managed to sample a few things over the weekend. Everything was top notch though.
My favourite
I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but my top eats were:
1. Hog Roast – Succulent pork, apple sauce, stuffing and a big piece of crackling in a fluffy bun. A bit fell out when I was taking the picture – you should have heard the sigh of shock from the people watching me. I could eat this everyday.
2. Tom’s pies – Steak and ale was everything it should be. Robust but thin, crumbly, buttery pastry (not too rich though) with soft chunks of meat and gravy. So hot I had to blow on it – sublime pie-eating experience.
3. Bacon sandwich – This was my own made of Morrison’s ‘spoilt pig’ bacon with tom ketch in a roll eaten overlooking that wonderful view of Dartmoor.
The baked potatoes and Aberdeen Angus burgers were very good too, had to leave the Indian, Thai, Veggie burgers and crepes for a another year.
Music? Show of Hands, John Otway Big Band, Magic Numbers and Three Daft Monkeys all rocked my world!
Have you any festival food highlights?
My good, glam friend cooking breakfast
P.S. Thank you for all the nice messages about The Independent Best Food Sites – I was absolutely thrilled to be included.
My Custard Pie 
The festival looks very fun :))
That “Tea and cake” photo reminds me of an Eddie Izzard sketch :))
Hope you had a great time ♥
I just love when people do blog posts on places they go and things they see. We have an annual Thai festival in walking distance from our house, the next time they have it I will post about it.
Sally, I hope this isn’t insulting… But, every time I read your posts I think to myself “She is such a cool mom!” You just seem to do it all!. This music festival looks super fun and the food scrumptious.
Sally…you are a cool mom. Very, very cool. Your family is extremely lucky to have you.
Insult? Far from it – thanks so much Nausheen and Dee
It does look like you’re having fun! And congratulations on the write-up, well deserved indeed! 🙂
That looks lovely! I’ve never been on a festival like the ones in the UK, so this is all quite new, and interesting too!
Festivals have never really appealed to me but I never realised there was good food to be had – that changes everything!
That sure looks like fun! The pie looks and sounds heavenly… One thing we don’t see much around here is meat pies, but what a wonderful thing. Yum.
Haven’t heard of this festival before – sounds lovely. I’m assuming it’s at Chagford or thereabouts? I have, however, had one of Tom’s pies and they are rather good. Our local festival, the Port Elliot festival is meant to be really really good, but to my shame I still haven’t managed to get there – next year!
It’s one of the best things about festivals and fairs nowadays…the fabulous food stalls. Love them and love a roast pork cob! Well done on being a Best Independent Food Site too. Well deserved!
It’s the crackling that pulls me in. Thanks so much.
Congrats on being one of the best! Truly an honor! And I so love festival food, and husband and I go to festivals, well, just for the food. I’ll bet the eating is so much better in the UK than in France. Really!
Thanks Jamie. Really ?!!
I can’t believe you sacrificed some of that delicious hog roast in the name of taking a picture! But glad you did – it looks incredible. Probably my favourite festival food too – nothing beats a van full of pork and crispy crackling!
I do so agree.