The Big Feastival is an annual event located in the Cotswolds on Alex James’ farm. For those who are not familiar with the name Alex James, they may remember him as the bassist in Blur, and he’s now a cheese-maker. This feastival is a collaboration between Alex and Jamie Oliver and is a dream for all foodies. The festival is a celebration of food and specialises in showcasing an array of food items, and there are gourmet trucks food trucks to explore.
It’s the perfect opportunity for those wanting to explore new independant food brands, and for those with specific dietary requirements such as being gluten intolerant, or vegan. There were lots of speciality items to explore, a lot of which will come as a pleasant surprise as the independent chefs put their creative culinary talents on display.
“Everything you could want from a food and music festival, and then some.”
It’s also a music festival so there is plenty of big acts to keep you entertained whilst you feast and drink the afternoon away. There is a nice family atmosphere along the party vibe, so you can feel comfortable taking the whole family without having the intimidating atmosphere which comes with many of the music festivals. It’s quite an intimate setting overall and still manages to pull in some huge acts such as Kaiser Chiefs and Mark Ronson, there may not be many better opportunities to experience such acts so intimately so that’s something to consider next year. Away from the main stage there was also a cheese hub where you could find Alex James and an array of dj’s, along with several intimate music stages for up and coming bands and artists.
As well as the musical entertainment there were lots of cooking demonstrations featuring celebrity chefs such as Raymond Blanc, Dan Docherty, and naturally Jamie Oliver. There is also a vintage fairground with a helter skelter that dominated the skyline.
We had the three-day camping tickets which covered the duration of the festival. Camping gave us the perfect opportunity to experience everything the festival had to offer at our leisure and we were happy with our choice. We can’t speak highly enough of The Big Feastival, it has everything you could want from a food and music festival, and then some. Our advice - keep the dates clear in your calendar next year.
