This Bank Holiday was spent dodging rain (mostly) but we also spent the day The Great British Food Festival at Harewood House in Leeds. Thankfully the rain held off for us and it was a rather pleasant day. This was my third visit to The Great British Food Festival and it’s one of my favourite days out each Summer. I was kindly gifted VIP tickets The Great British Food Festival team and of course, brought Walter in tow for a day of delicious food.
The Great British Food Festival takes place most weekends throughout the Summer in various stately home locations across the UK. This weekend it was Harewood House near Leeds’ turn to host the event. Obviously, it’s a stunning location and Harewood House is just a lovely place to visit. We arrived shortly after lunchtime and it was absolutely booming – I think everyone had the same idea going on the dry day!
The Great British Food Festival hosts many different food stalls, artisan stalls, cooking demos & challenges and live music. As I mentioned previously, we had Walter with us as it’s a very dog friendly event with lot’s of dog stations with fresh water. Walter had the time of his life here! It’s also a great festival for those with children as theres a few rides, a circus entertainment area and lot’s of entertainment for youngsters.
We had VIP tickets which meant we had our own little area with plenty of seating to just chill out and enjoy our food. There was also undercover seating if the unthinkable happened (rain!!). We enjoyed all our food in here as it was just so chilled and comfortable. Included in the ticket was a free drink each; Stefan got a Cobra Beer and I had a glass of Prosecco. We also was offered a platter of local foods such as breads, jams and cheese to try at our table. The VIP area also had it’s own toilets, fast lane for the bar and a left luggage if you did a bit of shopping!
Now, on to the food! There was so many different food stalls offering everything from pizza, Thai, Mexican, Caribbean and much more! We started off our food tour at Bowlands Hog Roast where we got a Hog Roast Roll with apple sauce and the most unreal crispy crackling. We shared one roll between two of us and it was £7.50. It was utterly delicious and a great way to start the day at The Great British Food Festival.
The second stop was a place called Steakwich. The menu at this place was unreal offering Steak Sandwiches including a Philly Cheese Steak one, a Stilton and Mushroom one and a Peppercorn one. Alternatively instead of having it in a sandwich, you can have it on homemade fries which is what we opted with the Philly Cheese one. With grilled peppers and onions and nacho cheese, the steak was on the most delicious and crispy chunky chips. I wasn’t completely blown away by the steak itself but all in all, I enjoyed it. The sandwiches varied from £10-£12 whilst the topped chips were £14.
Stefan then opted for MORE topped chips. I’m not too sure what the stall was called as he left me in the VIP area to go wandering. He came back with fries topped with BBQ pork shoulder, bacon frazzles and coleslaw. It certainly was a show stopping dish. This was also £14 which seems to be the regular (yet slightly spenny) price for topped chips.
We also had one of the homemade lemonades. The Lemonade stand has been every year we have been and it’s delicious! We got a Cherry Lemonade and it’s 10/10. As another sweet treat I also got a Flake Chocolate Waffle Pop which was £6.00. This was an excellent finale to a day of delicious food. I wish we just had more room to try more food stalls!
Alongside eating, we also enjoyed watching the Man Vs Food Challenge, live music and browsing the shopping area. We managed to pick up a fair few treats for Walter on some of the doggy stands. We were nearly there until closing time, there was just so much to get round. All in All, we had an amazing day filled with lot’s of delicious food. I’ve listed the 2024 dates for the other Great British Food Festival dates & tickets can be bought here!
2024 Great British Food Festival Dates
- 31st-2nd June – Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
- 15th-16th June – Dalkeith Country Park, Edinburgh
- 22nd-23rd June – Ashridge House, Hertfordshire
- 29th-30th June – Dinton Pastures, Berkshire
- 20th-21st July – Knebworth House, Hertfordshire
- 10th-11th August – Lydiard Park, Wiltshire
- 17th-18th August – Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire
- 7th-8th September – Margam Park, South Wales
- 21st-22nd September – Arley Hall, Cheshire
For food lovers, it’s one not to be missed!
XOXO
*I was provided with complimentary VIP tickets to Harewood House but all thoughts and opinions are my own. All food was paid for by myself.
Leave a Reply