FOOD + DRINK insideTHE BUSINESS :
THE KENT FOOD FEST
KENT ' S ORIGINAL FOOD AND MUSIC FESTIVAL , THE KENT FOOD FEST IS DEDICATED TO SERVING UP THE TASTIEST FESTIVAL FOOD ALONGSIDE THE BEST OF BRITISH UNSIGNED MUSIC TALENT AND WORLD-RENOWNED IBIZA DJS . FAMILY FOCUSED , PET-FRIENDLY AND COMMITTED TO RAISING MONEY FOR LEADING CHILDREN ' S CHARITIES , THE FESTIVAL UNFOLDS IN THE HEART OF SUNNY SEVENOAKS AT LITTLE ELSES , A MAGICAL COUNTRYSIDE LOCATION , ON SATURDAY JUNE 3 .
Tell us what led to you creating The Kent Food Fest .
As a signed songwriter , I was previously organising community live music and beer festivals supporting some incredible causes . Being a foodie , I soon realised that adding gourmet food would be the perfect complement to the events we were organising . It ’ s now been seven years since I first created The Kent Food Fest and it keeps getting better .
Where have you previously held your festival ?
The setting of the festival is very important to us ; the venue must have that wow factor . We ’ ve previously held The Kent Food Fest at Lullingstone Castle and Bradbourne House , which are both very impressive locations . Being countryside-based , we loved hosting it at St Clere estate and The Mount Vineyard . All very local and prestigious settings . This year we have a magical farmland in Weald , Sevenoaks .
What differences from previous years can we expect this year ?
The festival site is vast this year , so we really wanted to include as many unique experiences as possible . For dance music lovers , we have Ibiza-style DJs performing in a treehouse in our secret forest . And for any classic car lovers out there , we are very excited to be bringing in a fleet of incredible classic cars . New to the event this year is also a pop-up iconic art exhibition , The Ben Oakley Gallery . Stay tuned to our social media for a sneak peek of the cars and artwork on show .
What type of food can we expect to see this year ?
We have some super quirky vintage food trucks serving up gourmet food from Mexican , Thai , rotisserie chicken , Caribbean , gourmet burgers and authentic Italian wood-fired pizzas . There ’ s also a wide selection of vegetation , vegan and gluten-free options . We ’ re also excited to reveal one of our vegan food traders - cooking up a storm are none other than last year ’ s Masterchef finalists .
Tell us a bit more about your drinks village and sponsors .
We have some great independent brands stepping in this year to support the festival including Good Brothers Wine Co , Winekraft and the Small Spirits Company . In addition to these headline sponsors , we ’ ve got award-winning craft beers , top mixologists in the Boston shaker cocktail bar , award-winning lagers , a Pimms bar and unique craft gins . This year , we are championing alcohol-free options and want to introduce as many low or no alcohol alternatives and botanical spirits as possible . It ’ s a huge market and many of us want to go booze-free these days .
Talk to us about the live music festivalgoers will hear .
We have carefully selected acts that have performed on BBC Introducing so music lovers won ’ t be disappointed . As always , we try to support unsigned talent . We treat our bands and artists like rock stars and have become fans of their music .
What sets your festival apart from other Kent-based festivals ?
Having toured all over the UK and performed at various festivals , I ’ ve always found that families find it difficult financially to rock up to a food and music festival . Especially in today ’ s times , when everyone ' s budgets are being pinched . So we price our tickets at an affordable rate and keep our drinks prices lower than many other festivals .
www . thekentfoodfest . com thefoodfestkent
81