How UK music festivals became food festivals, too

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If you were a teenager in the UK, you probably went to a music festival. Or ten. Or ten every single summer, until you were too tired to face it anymore and needed a ten year break (before falling in love with festivals again in your 30s, of course). 

With the Glastonbury Festival weekend just passed, the Brits on the InFlavour team have been reminiscing about their experiences – and wondering when exactly a very particular kind of change happened. 

Music festivals were not, conventionally, a good culinary experience. Festival-goers would scramble around in the bottom of their backpacks for the last soggy cereal bar to get them through a weekend of revelry, and splash their cash on a baked potato when they realised they’d run out of emergency chocolate. 

But new research has found that one person will spend around £200 on food across one weekend at a music festival. The focus has shifted – away from food as fuel to just get you through, to food as a delight; another immersive experience to enjoy. 

Independent food vendors have transformed festival eating

Independent vendors saw an opportunity – and they went out there (to the muddy festival field) and took it. 

It’s all about street food. 

Today, at a UK music festival of any size, you can expect to find food stands selling every variation of gourmet burger, cooked to perfection. Pies and pastries of every kind; curries that transport you to the streets of Goa with one bite; local dishes from every country you can imagine; and high-end versions of festival staples, including (of course) the baked potato. 

This rise in street food at festivals is linked to a broader trend towards street food across the country. A 2023 study found that the UK street food market is worth over £600 million, and growing by 20% per year – with 50% of respondents buying street food at least once a week.

And the festival setting is the perfect place to promote, sell, and enjoy street food – cooked for convenient, low-effort eating, and with flavours that can turn your whole day around. 

Some music festivals that have taken the foodie experience to another level

High quality street food is the norm at the vast majority of music festivals today. But some have taken it to another level – blending food and music and very much becoming foodie festivals. 

One example of this is Wilderness; a festival in the Oxfordshire countryside where you can attend banquets cooked by celebrity chefs, and join workshops to improve your own food skills; from a garnishing competition, to a preserve-making session. 

And the (more humble) Womad festival, with a whole stage dedicated to food. Aptly named ‘Taste the World’, the stage features musicians and artists from across the festival’s programme, all there to chat to audiences about their favourite foods, cook food live on stage, and open up a dialogue about the diversity of food that leaves you wanting to eat…everything. 

Festivals love food

Festivals have boundaries – and people who stay within those boundaries for three or four days. That makes them brilliant opportunities for independent food vendors to connect with new customers, introduce new tastes to people who are in an open state of mind, and add to the festival experience with delicious, nourishing food. 

We’ve taken inspiration from festival food culture at InFlavour. We bring that sense of togetherness and curiosity to the exhibition floor – blending cutting edge industry experiences with experimental food experiences that can change your perspective on the culinary arts. 

What’s your favourite festival for food? 

Whether it’s an actual food festival, or a different kind of festival that happens to be really good at food – we want to hear about your favourite festivals for food and eating.

Mark your calendars for our next newsletter on 23 August 2024. Is there anything specific you'd like to see covered? We'd love to hear from you! Click here to share your suggestions.

Until next week,

Aravind Kanniah,
Exhibition Director

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