Foodie Festival Fun For the Whole Family!
When I was asked to review Tatton Park’s annual Foodie Festival, I was more than happy to oblige. At only 9 weeks old, we hadn’t had a real day out with Saffy yet, our weekends mostly spent house cleaning, picking up baby furniture bought on eBay, travelling to see relatives or doing the big shop. So Foodie Fest would give us the perfect opportunity for our first family outing – tons of different activities all in one space.
Parking was adjacent to the site, so the three of us didn’t have to travel too far to get to the festival; a relief as I’d forgotten to pack the carrier, meaning we’d have to take the pram. We opted for the Cossatto “Happy Campers” system for its vivid colours and retro style, but the small hard plastic wheels are a real challenge on even the flattest fields and grassland; you really have to work to get anywhere and I’m pretty sure poor Saffy felt every notch, dent, stone and tuft on her way in. Not that the little trooper complained.
Now within its twelfth year, Foodie Fest offers ‘World’s Greatest Farmer’s Market’ vibe, with streets of stalls, tents, trucks and caravans all arranged loosely by theme or products being sold: an alleyway for confectionary, offering churros, ice cream, brownies as big as a fist and martini glasses filled with fudge. There was a whole block dedicated to different Welsh produce – an avenue filled with vegetarian vendors and ‘big name’ promotions forming the festival perimeter. Between these are marquees offering demonstrations by celebrity chefs, a beautiful Edwardian style helter-skelter and a giant music stage, all really adding to the whole festival atmosphere.
The event was bustling with young families, so we felt very much at home – although Beth did confess to getting a spot of pram-envy as we watched the Cheshire yummy mummies glamming it effortlessly across the terrain with their chunky-wheeled, off-road style Silver Cross systems.
No matter, as the three of us were VIP’s for the day, we headed to the VIP tent for a glass of bubbly (me), a cup of tea (Beth) and a feed (Saffy). I’m not usually one for the VIP treatment, but it was incredibly helpful to have a private(ish) space for Beth to breastfeed. The bottomless refreshments also came in handy, as feeding is thirsty work. We could also book VIP seats for our choice of cooking demo from within the tent, which was fantastic, as the regular queue was really long and Saffy has quite a short window of ‘happy time’ before she starts to get cranky and will need a feed, new nappy or change of scenery.
We snacked our way through the hot afternoon, spending a lot of time speaking with vendors and tasting lots of samples; the haloumi fries being a particular favourite for the both of us. We walked around the site several times and found something different that we’d missed each time.
There were also lots of alcoholic samples on offer, everything from wines to whiskies, without stalls giving too much concern about return visitors. Beth very kindly offered to be the designated driver upon our departure, as I think being out in the warm summer sun for so long made me rather too tired to drive us all home!
Two points of warning though:
1. The portaloo toilets available were the green ‘compostable’ type – essentially just a hole cut into a plank of chipboard that’s suspended over a bale of hay – no flush and very little pomp or circumstance. This didn’t bother me, but those with more sensitive posteriors may wish to ensure they are ‘comfortable’ before leaving home so they don’t have to use them.
2. While the weather held out for us, there isn’t much shelter on site – so a brolly and appropriate footwear are a must, as things can turn wet and muddy very quickly.
