Food is not only the best way to celebrate, it is also an excuse to celebrate in its own right. There are countless food festivals across the world, from traditional feasts to rainy English farmer’s markets, but for us nothing beats good street food. It trades pretentiousness for simplicity, and fancy presentation for taste, it’s relaxed, informal and flexible and can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. In short, street food is the best way to eat, so here are our top four food festivals that any self-confessed foodie should visit.
Rolling Kitchens
Amsterdam has a reputation for being pretty damn cool, and its food festivals are no different. Rolling Kitchens is a four day event that sees the city taken over by mobile kitchens of every type imaginably, from bikes to busses. On offer are classic Dutch dishes, universally beloved comfort food and exotic concoctions from far away lands. One of Rolling Kitchens’ greatest features is its affordability, so expect to see plenty of local students making the most of any excuse for a good time. As well as the food there are stages hosting comedy acts and live music to keep everyone entertained during the four day event.
http://rollendekeukens.amsterdam/en/
London Craft Beer Festival
Because of course London has a craft beer festival. Apparently a swathe of independent breweries nearing triple digits wasn’t enough for London’s hipsters, so they started a festival to bring brewers from all over Europe, America and the rest of the UK there too. It might be unnecessary, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun, and with many of the best brewers in the world we thought that the London Craft Beer Festival was well deserving of a place on this list. This might not technically be a street food festival, but it does have fantastic food, a relaxed atmosphere and free beer, so we are sure you will forgive us.
http://www.londoncraftbeerfestival.co.uk/home/
Grillstock
American BBQ hits the streets Brittan with Grillstock, a festival dedicated to cooking meat with fire. There are three annual festivals across the UK (Bristol, London and Manchester), with live music by the likes of Fun Lovin Criminals, Grandmaster Flash and The Heavy to provide the perfect backdrop for intentional overeating. As well as countless catering stalls selling pretty much everything meaty there are chilli eating competitions, hot wing eating competitions and hot dog eating competitions, and even if you don’t plan on joining in, there is a certain sadistic joy to watching grown men weep as they try to finish that last, volcano hot chilli.
http://grillstock.co.uk/bristol-festival
Anything in New Orleans
New Orleans does some of the greatest streetfood in the world, with festivals throughout the year, and frankly we thought it would be unfair to pick just one. The Louisiana Seafood Festival sees a celebration of everything fresh from the sea, while the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival is solely based around New Orleans’ favourite sandwich. Both feature live music and a vast amount of food and drink (well it is America). There is also the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, which is exactly as pretentious as it sounds, so we say avoid that one and grab a po-boy instead. If you still need a reason, the Louisiana Seafood Festival is for charity, so you have to go.
