Last held in 2019, interrupted by pandemic safety guidelines and much longed for by local residents and traders alike – Banbury’s annual food festival returned this weekend with something to delight everyone.
Events Once Again Take Centre Stage
One of the things that we’ve always loved about Banbury is the impressive Calendar of Events the town features. Yes, those events got temporarily put on hold when everyone else’s did. But they’ve come back strong this year – starting with Taste of Spring (the smaller of Banbury’s two food focused events), then the Jubilee Celebration weekend which was both similar to the Banbury District Show that usually happens roughly that time of year – but also utterly unique.
But I must admit – as much as I enjoyed those events, this was the one I was waiting for. And judging by the turn out, I was not the only one.
Banbury Food & Drink Festival 2022 (aka Banbury Food Fair)
Now, given the economic pressure many of the regular stall holders would have been under during the pandemic (after all, most of them missed two whole food festival seasons), I wasn’t sure what the mix or size would be like. Also, there wasn’t a floral and produce show this time (and I admit, I did miss the food art categories) but all the rest of the usual bits were there – food to eat there, food to take home, music, and cooking demonstrations
There were about 80 stalls – down from I believe was a high of 120 several years back – but which seems pretty good given how long events have been on hiatus. Another thing that struck me during my first walk around was how well balanced the mix of offering was. At some festivals, you can get too many of one type of thing and it makes everything else sort of limited. Not a problem here.
Naturally, there were jams and chutneys, infused oils, and spice mixes – these are mainstays of food fairs of all kinds. But were some fantastic dried sausages (on in particular serving as a trophy for a VERY happy Spaniel named Montana as well as chilis and chilli plants, baked goods galore (including Banbury Cakes – because, of course), an impressive landscape of sweets, cheeses, and lots of signature foods from an impressive array of cuisines; you could easily have eaten around the globe – Thai, Spanish, Greek, Croatian, German, Caribbean, Indian, Italian, not to mention burgers, slushies, milkshakes, and fresh squeezed lemonade. Beers, wines, and spirits were also well-represented (and I had to say some spirits were so beautifully packaged and displayed, they were like works of art).
Switching Things Up
Previously the ‘eat on site’ hot food and beverage stalls were concentrated up near the Cornmarket entrance to Castle Quay – and there was a circle of them there this year as well – expanded into the space where the floral and produce show marquee used to be. But – in what I assume has been in response to the growing attendance numbers and feedback – an even larger circle of hot food and beverage stalls was located at the opposite end of the festival area at the roundabout in front of town hall. There were also several hot food options scattered along the rows – including Good Times Cafe whose sandwiches I had discovered at Banbury Taste of Spring earlier this year.
I have to say, I am so glad that they FINALLY saw the sense in placing seating in the Town Hall roundabout. It had been talked about for a LONG time but never seemed to get sorted – something about annoying the taxi drivers and buses. But come on – it’s ONE day and it’s a Sunday. To whoever overcame this hurdle at last – cheers. Given how fab the turnout was, this new seating area was in much demand. If I had one quibble, it was incredibly minor and it was that the Cornmarket seating area could have been a bit bigger. But as I say, it’s a minor quibble and people seemed to sort themselves out.
Delicious Demos Delight Audiences
Another location change from recent years was the location of the cooking demonstration. At the last several food fairs, it was upstairs in Town Hall. But I always wondered if that wasn’t difficult for some people with the stairs and the fact that they lift was both small and a bit slow. Not to mention, in some weather, the room was very warm. This year, the cooking demonstrations, featuring chef Paul Da Costa Greaves, were held in a mobile demo kitchen outdoors on Bridge Street. This seemed to work well on several levels – it had level accessibility, was outdoors so you could still catch the breeze and because it was set slightly away from the hum of the crowds and the music, you could actually HEAR. Music floating up from around Town Hall had been an issue a couple of times before. This seems to have sorted it.
Buzzing and Busy
Chatted with a lot of people as I wandered to and fro amongst the goodies (one of the great things about these events is the people I can get to chatting with). Some were there by chance, having decided for their own reasons that this was the day to see what Banbury was all about. One couple with whom I was perusing churro toppings mentioned that they had ‘just decided to see what Banbury was about and got lucky.‘
Another couple were kind enough to let us snag half of their table on the roundabout during a lunch break. They were clearly visiting for the day and delighted by both the event and, interestingly, the ‘great mature trees‘ in the town centre. We talked briefly about the trees and about grilled cheese sandwiches (I was eating a classic four cheese grilled sandwich from Good Times Cafe) and views were expressed about the right cheeses for the best sandwich.
For those who were in town because they knew it was food fair day, it all seemed to live up to expectations. At least the expectations of the folks that I spoke with – attendees and vendors alike. Tess’ Brilliant Bakes is a regular at the weekly Banbury market so we see them all the time and know how popular they are – and every time we walked by they were absolutely swamped. They’d brought a lot with them (they’ve done this event before and know how busy it can get) and yet – they were almost sold out by the end of the day. They weren’t the only ones. As I walked past the samosa stall near NatWest around 1:30, 1:45 – he was selling far faster than he could cook and ended up with a couple of gaps where nothing was available. Didn’t stop people wanting them though – saw several people happily waiting because they knew how good they were.
Town Centre Businesses Represent!
I was really pleased to see Chicken Shed from Lock29 out with a stall – if I haven’t mentioned their chicken sandwich, let me do so now. OMG that chicken sandwich. And you know what – even without ANY toppings, it’s still one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had. And honestly, who else is offering tater tots? No one. So go and try it. You will not be sorry.
Another local shop – Sheila’s Sweets was also on hand, with a selection of sweets from the shop up on Parsons Street. As it happens, we wandered up Parsons Street to Sheila’s Shakes to have a milkshake and a bit of a sit down in the relative calm of upper Parsons on a Sunday. Then right back down, wading in to the happy, snacking throng.
A few lingering thoughts:
- Something I learned that I didn’t know before: the VW camper van belonging to Webster’s Event Catering is named Roberto. Fabulous name for an absolutely lovely mobile bar.
- Something I am going to keep an eye out for: smoked scallops. I’ve had smoked salmon before, obviously. But I stopped at the Pound for Pound stall (they’d been at Taste of Spring as well, if I recall correctly) and they had samples out of the smoked scallops – and OH MY WORD! A taste revelation.
- Something I am gonna wonder about for a while: Did anyone take up the Vintage Wonder Ice Cream challenge of trying the 7-scoop ice cream cone?
- Something cleverly designed that caught my eye: The inkwell shaped bottles from Shakespeare Distillery.
- Something I hope to see more of: local shops and eateries participating with stalls & getting involved. Terrific to see the ones that were, and I hope they did well. But I bet places like Italian Larder (up on the High Street) would do well. Maybe a foodie map of the town centre to encourage wandering further afield to places like award-winning Pizza Calzone. They could be given out at the Town Council stall, perhaps?
And that is my round up of Banbury’s Food & Drink Festival 2022. I am, quite frankly, already ready for 2023. What about you?