Everything you need to know about Kent's food and drink festival in spectacular castle grounds

With summer approaching, it really is the perfect time to be a foodie in Kent, with festivals celebrating all things delicious popping up left, right and centre. Following on from Bluewater’s spectacular event just a few weeks ago, it’s now Medway’s turn to get cooking and put on a celebration to tantalise the taste buds.

Following its successful debut last year, Medway Food and Drink Festival returns to the Rochester Castle grounds for a three-day flavour extravaganza you won’t want to miss. Taking place from Friday (June 7) through to Sunday (June 9), guests can expect an array of expert food and drink vendors bringing mouth-watering flavours from around the world to the heart of Medway.

With insightful cooking demonstrations, an artisan market and live music, plus children’s rides and entertainers, there really will be a little something for everyone to enjoy. Author Suzan Ruben-Alderton, known for the children’s book The Fairy who lived in a Pop Can, will also be taking part and will perform a live reading of her book.

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The cooking stage will welcome a range of culinary talent across the three days, each delivering lessons and talks to help hone those kitchen skills at home. Medway Live will also be running in tandem with the event, which will see a host of stand-up comics performing on Friday and Saturday evening.

Tickets for Medway Food and Drink Festival are on sale now and cost £11 per adult per day, £6.50 for a young person ticket (aged 3 to 17) and £32 for families (two adults and two young persons). Children up to the age of three are able to enter for free.

Separate tickets will need to be purchased for Medway Live, costing £12 per adult. The food festival will take place between 12pm and 6pm on the Friday, 9am and 6am on Saturday, and finally 10am to 5pm on the Sunday. Take a look at the full line-up below.

Live music

Friday, June 7

Stage 1

• 12pm - Nate Austin

• 2.30pm - The Joe Cox Band

• 5pm - Big River (Adam Barron The Voice)

Stage 2

• 12pm - Bex Howarth

• 2.30pm - Rus Keaton

Saturday, June 8

Stage 1

• 11am - Andy White Band

• 1.30pm - LKG

• 3pm - Samuel Ashton & The Instincts

• 5pm - Phat Gandalf

Stage 2

• 12pm - Billy Pettinger

• 1.30pm - Pete Smith

• 3.30pm - Gavin Alexander

Sunday, June 9

Stage 1

• 12pm - Deep River Blues

• 2pm - AVANZI

• 4pm - Loose Change, 8-piece soul band

Stage 2

• 12pm - Show of Hands Choir

• 12.30pm - Ian Fox

• 3pm - Soul Choir

• 4pm - Andy Wilkinson

Traders

Clothing

• 7ukuilla - Traditional South American handcrafted products

• Violets Collections - Women’s, men’s and children’s clothing and accessories.

Arts and Crafts

• Lybo Coasters - Handmade ceramic coasters.

• Teresita Crafts - Crafts from South America including jewellery, hats and toys.

• R Hills Woodturning - A variety of handmade and wooden products such as bowls, resin and button turned items and more.

• Woodandbates.com - Luxury wax melt products.

Home and Garden

• Staffordshire Pottery - An array of Staffordshire pottery items and sets.

Hot Food

• Chock Shop Essex - Artisan chocolate brownies.

• Churros 2 Ltd. - Delicious churros and chocolate.

• Crepeexpectations - Sweet and savoury crepes, freshly cooked to order.

• Farmhouse Foods - Burgers, pork, gammon, chicken wings and ribs cooked on a wood burner smoke oven.

• Jaffna Kitchen - Authentic Sri Lankan food.

• Jerk Café Ltd - Jerk chicken, burgers and wraps, curry mutton, yardie fries and more.

• Mexitaco - Mexican street food from burritos and tacos to fajitas and nachos.

• Mr Dumpling - Chicken and vegetarian dumpling plus bubble tea.

• Nori Pan Asia - A range of pan-Asian dishes, including katsu curry and Korean-style house spicy chicken.

• Real Greek Food - Greek Street food such as pork or chicken souvlaki.

• Thainese Street Food - Thai and Chinese street food, offering dishes such as Thai green curry, black bean, sweet and sour, kung po and spring rolls.

• Wrap It - Vegan and vegetarian toasted wraps and salads, themed on locations from around the world, with menu items including falafel, onion bhaji and vegan duck.

Grocery food

• Crumbs Cakes - Luxury American-style brownies and blondies.

• Field of Cheese - A selection of waxed cheddar cheese truckles, alongside crackers, crisps, chutney and chilli jams.

• Granny Sally’s Confectionery - Old English fudge.

• Lavin Limited - Olives, baklava, Turkish delight and nuts.

• Mimi’s Cakes and Bakes - A range of cakes and tasty baked goods.

• Nonna Tonda - Handmade pasta delivered to customers’ homes in a recipe box.

• O’Donnell Moonshine - Unique bottled alcohol for off-site consumption.

• Passion Du Fromage - Spanish and French saucisson, French cheese and more continental fine foods.

• Tastycakes - Brownies, cakes, cookies and more.

• The Great British Cheese Company - Award-winning, flavoured, waxed cheese truckles.

• The Wiltshire Chili Farm - Chilli products made using home-grown chillies.

• The Michael Group trading as Nimi & Nosh - A wide selection of unique sauces.

• Quality Greek Olives - Olives, baklava, Turkish Delight, and nuts.

• A.j Fruits - Fresh fruits.

• Elevents Ltd - Freshly baked coconut macaroons.

• The Bilton Station - Biltong, drywors, bites, red and white wine and prosecco.

• Shwen Shwen Ltd - A selection of fruit juices.

Beverages -

• Abyssin Ethiopian Flavours - Pina Coladas

• Beardy B’s Lemonade - Classic and flavoured lemonades.

• Blooming Beans - Coffees, teas, soft drinks and sweet pastries.

• Cantiaci Craft Distillery Ltd - Artisan gin and Moonshine vodka sold by the bottle.

• Devils Bridge Rum - Spiced rum, liqueurs and tinned cocktails.

• Distinct Distillers - Flavoured rums.

• Famous Last Stand - Beers, lagers, ales, ciders, wines and more.

• Freeze Zone - Iced slush drinks.

• Mr Bees - Beers and beer gift packs.

• Pearl Milk Bar - Bubble tea.

• Vintage shakes - Milkshakes in a variety of flavours.

• Willobeans Espresso Bar - Barista style coffees, specialty teas, hot chocolates, iced drinks, bags of coffee and alcoholic options.

• Turner’s Cider - Artisan ciders in the ‘Eastern counties’ style.

• NFJ - Bottled natural juices made with alkaline water.

Ice Cream

• Snow White Catering - Fresh whippy ice cream and a selection of iced lollies.

Other

• Butternut Box - Freshly prepared dog food.

• Costco Wholesale - Promoting Costco memberships.

• Demelza - Raising money for Children’s Hospice.

• Fairy in a Pop Can - The author has written the children’s book, Fairy in a Pop Can to raise money for charity. All proceeds will be donated to Young Lives V Cancer and Batten Disease.

• Nine Oaks Vineyard - Small artisan family-run vineyard based in the village of Hothfield offering two still wines; Chardonnay and Rose both from their 2022 vintage.

• Riverford Organic Farmers - Seasonal organic vegetable boxes and more from the farm delivered to customers’ doors.

• Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (South West Wildlife Fundraising Ltd) - Raising awareness about the work and local nature reserves of the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

• RNLI – South East - Raising awareness around the work of the RNLI along our nation’s coastline.

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