Food festivals in August

What amazing weather we’ve been having for food festivals these past few months, with a bank holiday coming up this month bets are on to see if tradition will be broken or whether it will rain like it normally does on a bank holiday weekend. Here is our list of those festies happening this month that we think you should be popping along to… First up is a hot one to suite the climate at the moment:

Great Dorset Chilli Festival

  Where: St Giles Park, Wimborne When: 2nd – 3rd August Back for it's fourth year the Great Dorset Chilli Festival have once again joined forces with the UK Chilli Cook-off Association to create this regional heat of the national chilli cook-off competition to be held on the second day of this two-day festival. The rules are simple: teams have four hours to cook a gallon of chilli-con-carne (or vegetarian chilli) from scratch, using their own combination of ingredients and spices. The winner goes forward to the national finals, with the national winner competing in Las Vegas in the Chilli class of the World Food Championships. And for those that aren't wanting to cook large amount of con-carne there is:

• Chilli plant competition
• Chilli Eating Competition - competitors will subject themselves to ten rounds of increasingly hot chillies, which they have to consume in its entirety before they progress to the next round. The last man or woman standing will be crowned the winner.
• Chilli Sauce Tasting Tent
• Expert chefs will be showing how to use chillies in the Demonstration Tent, showcasing home-cooking at its best. New for this year, White Pepper Cookery School’s very own expert on Japanese cuisine will be talking to visitors on Saturday, whilst Christine McFadden of Dorset Foodie fame will be sharing her ‘hot’ tips on Sunday.

And for the kids:

• Falconry flying displays, fire breathing, and performances by Alfredo the Magician.  For hands on fun, there will be face painting, tree climbing, carriage rides, bouncy castles, and a caricaturist.
• For the ‘big kids’, there will once again be a great selection of performers in the music tent, including Dorset skiffle band Quinns Quinney and The Montgomerys. The beer and cider tent will quench thirsts, with the help of the brand new cocktail tent.

    And for those that don't like chilli how about this festival...  

Clitheroe Food Festival

Where: Clitheroe, Lancashire When: Saturday 9th August 2014, 9.00am – 4.40pm Nestled in Ribble Valley the event has reached dizzy visitor number heights in a very short space of time and remains, like very few UK festivals, true to its aim of ‘Showcasing the finest food producers in the red rose county’. Run by a very small Social Enterprise team in close association with Ribble Valley Borough Council, it is the highlight of the year for over 18,000 food loving Lancastrians and those from further afield such as Yorkshire, Cumbria, Merseyside, London, Wales and even France! The event remains FREE to enter with ticketed sessions such as masterclasses with Northcote’s Lisa Allen and Victor Yu, a real ale master class, game cookery, mystery box challenges with two chefs competing against the clock and each other. During the festival there is an array of music, historical talks, treasure hunts, food art and historical displays by the Forest of Bowland team, children’s food workshops and tea parties, archery, a fun fair, competitions, pop up restaurants, interest and sponsors stands.   Next we're heading back down south to the next instalment of the Foodies festival...

FEAST at Battersea Park

Where: Battersea Park, London When: 15th - 17th August Serving great food, chefs, collaborations, masterclasses and tastings this next festival as part of the Foodies festival has some of the UK’s top culinary maestros on board. Matt Robinson (Bluebird), Ben Tish (Salt Yard), Matt Pickop (Maze), the Michelin-starred Robert Ortiz (Lima), 2013 MasterChef victor Natalie Coleman and legendary Tuscan chef Giancarlo Caldesi are just some of those who will be appearing in the Chefs’ Theatre. The emphasis at FEAST will be very much on street and artisan food, and a trip to Street Food Avenue will allow visitors to taste the four corners of the world without ever leaving south London.

Other treats include an Ibiza Chill Out Cocktail Bar, Vintage Tea Tent, Bar on a Bike who have collaborated with Jelly Belly for an exploding array of cocktails a  And an eclectic line-up of live music.

There will also be a chance for people to test their mettle in a chilli eating competition hosted by The Wiltshire Chilli Farm. Encouraged by the crowd, 12 contestants each day will be attempting to break the current record of 13 varieties of chilli peppers eaten in one sitting.

Heading more South now is something of a rather fishy affair...

Newlyn Fish Festival

Where: Newlyn Harbour, Newlyn, Cornwall When: 09:00 to 17:00pm 25th August Back for its 25th year celebrate all things fishy in one of Cornwall's most distinctive and original fishing ports. Satisfy your appetite with the best seafood you can get whilst enjoying great cooking demos, live entertainment or bidding at the seafood auction.     To celebrate 25 years of great fish cooking at the Festival catering students from Penwith College will have the chance to show off their skills in the Great Cornish Fish Off. They won't know what ingredients they have to work with until they open the box and the countdown begins. Five minutes to plan, twenty-five to cook and then you, the audience, will judge the finished dish on speed, inventiveness and presentation. With fish films being shown, fish workshops, fish display and a fish auction this fishy affair is definitely one to take the kippers (kids) to this bank holiday.       Next up is a rather popular one happening at the end of the month...  

The Big Feastival

Where: Kingham, The Cotswolds When: 29th - 31st August Back for it's third year Jamie Oliver and Alex James present The Big Feastival - the summer’s top music, food and family festival. Taking place on Alex James’ farm, DJ Fatboy Slim and jazz-pop star Jamie Cullum will headline the three-day event along with R&B star and self-confessed foodie, Kelis, indie folk heroes Stornoway, family three-piece Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, acoustic star Jack Savoretti, reggae rhythm masters The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra and genre dodging Molotov Jukebox will also join Big Feastival favourites Norman Jay MBE, The Cuban Brothers and Duke performing across the weekend; with more music acts are still to be announced. New to the festival this year, Jamie and Alex will be getting the festivities started early with an additional day of music, food and family fun on Friday 29th August. It wouldn’t be The Big Feastival without the hottest chefs providing their top tips in live demos.   Joining host Jamie Oliver on the AEG Big Kitchen stage is his culinary mentor  and one half of the BBC’s The Two Greedy Italians Gennaro Contaldo and Le Gavroche Sous Chef Monica Galetti, fresh from the MasterChef: The Professionals kitchen. Heston Blumenthal’s protégé and Head Chef of the award-winning Dinner Ashley Palmer-Watts will also be taking to the stage, alongside Michelin chef Nathan Outlaw and the inspirational Valentine Warner. Also returning to The Big Feastival is barbeque extraordinaire, Christian Stevenson, AKA DJ BBQ.  In true Big Feastival style, there will be a whole host of gourmet food offerings to suit every taste.  

Other festivals happening in August:

• Isle of Wight Garlic Festival, 17th-18th
• Richmond Artisan Food Fayre, 17th-19th
• The Great British Food Festival at Stonyhurst College, 23rd-25th