Pub in the Park: Inside Tom Kerridge’s gourmet food festival

It's billed as a mix of gourmet food, cracking music and lush vibes

Tom Kerridge is the latest celebrity chef to put his name to a festival (Getty)

Festival season has just rolled into action in the UK, and it seems everyone wants a piece of them. Every weekend from now until September there are loads of weird and wonderful festivals to attend, celebrating everything from music to food, home-made crafts to fashion. So it makes sense that celebrities are joining in the fun and adding to this summer’s festival line-up.

Cue Tom Kerridge. The latest celebrity chef to put his name to a great festival that launched this weekend in Marlow, Pub in the Park.

Although the concept isn’t unique – think Taste Festival, it seems he has managed to persuade a lot of his chef friends to attend and wow the crowds with their mouth-watering dishes, all sold for a fiver each.

The stars of the show were Kerridge’s own stalls (Hand & Flowers and The Coach) serving concoctions such as malted pork cheek choux bun with bacon crunch – which was as good as it sounds! But there were some stand out winners from the others too, such as Sindhu’s chicken tikka pie and The Star Inn’s pan-fried foie gras “toad in the hole”.

The festival, which is billed as a mix of gourmet food, cracking music and lush vibes certainly lived up to its tagline. This is probably helped by the fact that it’s held in a beautiful Marlow park on the edges of the river Thames, giving it a great setting and making it feel very intimate.

Pub in the Park could be coming to other locations around the UK

Try wine tasting on a boat trip on the river, sample the amazing tasters from the artisan market stalls or catch the latest Bake-Off winner showing you how to make sausage rolls with black pudding.

All of this is topped off with live music from well-selected artists such as Toploader and James Morrison.

Kerridge managed to persuade a lot of his chef friends to attend

And what made it even better was the fact that it doesn’t seem like Tom Kerridge has just lent his name to the event, he pops up all over the place introducing acts, answering questions and so it seems he’s played a big part in the organisation as well as ensuring the ‘lush vibes’ of the festival.

From what we understand, if this weekend is a success – which it certainly seemed from our point of view, the idea is to hold Pub in the Park in other locations around the UK.

The festival also included live music from artists such as Toploader and James Morrison

There was quite a ‘local’ vibe to the event that would work excellently in other regions. So keep your eyes peeled next summer for a Pub in the Park near you and be sure to snap up a ticket, as this weekend sold out in hours, and for good reason.