The Sheffield Food Festival returns with local food and drink, help with leftovers and sustainability initiatives
Sheffield’s biggest free-to-attend event returns with a special royal theme as it takes place over the Jubilee bank holiday weekend.
Sheffield city centre’s biggest free-to-attend event returns at last this summer after a two-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year’s special tenth anniversary edition is taking place on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend (Thursday June 2 to Monday June 5, 2022).
The festival action will be happening across Sheffield’s Peace Gardens, St Paul’s Parade, Millennium Square, Town Hall Square and Pinstone Street, with a kids’ activity hub based in the Winter Gardens.
Street Food Market
The extensive Street Food market will be jam-packed with delicious treats from local companies; with over 90% of the traders based in the city.
There will be a range of food producers and businesses sharing their expertise and tasters of everything from home-made preserves to unusual gins, olives, pies, decadent brownies or toffee vodka.
Some of the well-known Sheffield food traders are signed up to take part, including Moss Valley Fine Meats. The irresistible smell of sizzling premium bacon, black pudding and sausages always brings in crowds to the Moss Valley stand. For fourth-generation farmer Stephen Thompson, the festival is a welcome way to meet customers face to face.
He said: “The festival brings a lot of people to Sheffield and teaches them about what local food is and what the producers are trying to do."
Drinks trader the Locksley Distilling Co is gearing up to mark its own tenth anniversary milestone next year.
“We love the festival”, said co-owner and distiller, Cynthia King. “It is great to be on our home turf with lots of friendly faces.”
Visitors to Sheffield Food Festival can taste samples of the versatile sipping gin at the Locksley stall before taking a bottle home.
Eats, Treats and Beats Festival Village
For the first time the chef demo stage will be located in the Eats, Beats and Treats village, inside the Peace Gardens.
These are always an entertaining way to discover new recipes and cooking tips from some of the best chefs, local celebrities and food-lovers working in Sheffield.
Music from bands and DJs, including many home-grown creatives, are to rock the village stage and local breweries will serve up their brews.
A later opening for the Eats, Beats and Treats village until 10pm also taps into efforts to refresh the city centre as an after-hours destination.
The Green Village
Sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing the food industry today.
In the festival’s Green Village, anchored by Heeley City Farm, there will be a collection of local organisations working on sustainable, organic and environmentally friendly products or techniques.
Visitors will be able to discover how to use up leftover produce thanks to the farm’s expertise and with help from city allotment groups.
