Foodies Festival

Foodies Festival is delighted to return to Hampton Court Palace this May. The UK’s largest celebration of food and drink will see visitors flock from the surrounding areas to feast on the vast array of culinary activities for the fifth consecutive year at Hampton Court Palace. Foodies Festivals also take place at Brighton, Tatton Park in Cheshire, Clapham Common London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Battersea Park London and Oxford.

Top chefs, including Ed Baines of Randall & Aubin, TV’s Gennaro Contaldo of Two Greedy Italians, Martin Blunos of Iron Chef fame, Michelin-starred Steve Drake of Drakes, Gary Lee of The Ivy as well as Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi of Caldesi restaurants and cook school will cook their signature dishes live in the Chefs’ Theatre and explain how amateur cooks can prepare the same dishes at home. The theatre will be compered by Shelina Permalloo, winner of Masterchef 2012, who said: “I’m delighted to be hosting the chefs’ theatre at this year’s Hampton Court Foodies with fantastic chefs, innovative recipes and plenty of fun on stage.”

Now in its eighth year, Foodies Festival has introduced new elements to all events in 2013. These include a spectacular Bake and Cake Theatre in association with Electrolux incorporating a ‘bake-along’ with members of the audience invited to participate. Doyenne of British sugarcraft, Lindy Smith, will demonstrate her unique, cutting-edge cake designs. She commented: “I'm passionate about sharing my sugarcraft skills and tips of the trade with both home and professional bakers. Creating beautifully decorated cakes that taste divine is not rocket science, and I look forward to sharing some easy and effective ways to decorate, cakes, cupcakes and cookies in the Bake and Cake Theatre at Foodies.”

2013 also sees the introduction of a dedicated Chocolate Theatre to showcase the world of chocolate and confectionary with daily demonstrations from David Greenwood-Haigh of Divine Chocolate. Foodies are delighted to welcome Fiona Sciolti to Hampton Court where she will extol the health benefits of chocolate and explain how her award-winning botanical chocolates are made using local fruits, flowers, teas, herbs, cream and honey.

There is also a Wine Village, bringing together producers and wine regions from across the world including Provence Wines, Chapel Down Wines and boutique English wine company Grays & Feather. The new market section Homeware Village offers visitors the chance to shop for kitchenware and gadgets.

In 2013, food-lovers can also enjoy the new dining and VIP area serving signature dishes from top local restaurants including pop-up versions of Ed Baines’ restaurant Randall & Aubin, Jamie’s Italian Kingston and Masala Zone, run by Veeraswamy, the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK. And there will be a new bar area with a countryside theme featuring hay bales and focusing on British cider and ale. The bar bus, a converted open-topped double-decker bus, is a fun addition to the tent and pagoda bars on offer throughout the site.

These new elements complement Foodies’ existing features including the Drinks Theatre where regular classes and demonstrations are given by some of the most talented sommeliers and mixologists and drink experts in the UK. This theatre allows visitors to be amongst some of the first people in the UK to sample 100s of products as well as brush up on their knowledge at the daily wine, ales and spirits masterclasses with experts including TV’s Charles Metcalfe and beer blacksmith Melissa Cole. This year there will also be a Cocktail Theatre where top mixologists will demonstrate their skills with hands-on classes.

The extensive Producers’ Market sells a vast array of artisan produce from the local area and incorporates the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Market’s award-winning British produce. Launching at Foodies in 2013 is Pinkster Gin, a raspberry-infused botanical premium gin. It will be available by the glass or bottle exclusively at Foodies, before rolling out in bespoke bars and retailers across the UK.

Last year saw the successful introduction of Street Food Avenue to all Foodies events. In 2013 the Hampton Court crowds can again enjoy the huge selection of ready-to-eat hot and cold food from around the world including hog roasts, exotic meats, tapas, churros, burritos, Moroccan tagines, South American prime beef, sausages, pizza, Jamaican and Thai street food.
This year’s Children’s Cookery Theatre will be operated by local cook school Kiddy Cook who will run a series of workshops incorporating gastronomic experiments. Kiddy Cook director Nikki Geddes said: “We’ll get the children making carbon dioxide rockets and bread bubble bombs to show them the chemical reaction that makes bread rise. They’ll learn the difference between taste and flavour and think about the effect sound has on their ability to eat.”

Relaxation in 2013 comes in the form of a City Beach where families can chill out on deckchairs with an artisan ice-cream or an afternoon tea whilst children build sandcastles. Various specialist tea, coffee and fresh juice vendors can be found around the site.

The entertainment stage features live music acts including Gloria Miller performing every day until the later closing time this year of 8pm.