Danny Malin: From soggy pies to street food stars - festival food is better than ever
It’s the season for festivals, events, and sporting occasions to kick off.
Going to a festival used to mean grabbing a cheese burger or overcooked hotdog and chips if you were lucky. Event food has typically been three courses of substandard food, and at the footy, you were lucky if you got a processed pie and a cup of Bisto.
But it’s gone up several notches thanks to consumers seeking flavoursome food.
The street food scene has boomed since the pandemic, with new chefs and businesses popping up thanks to social media.
Now most events and festivals are centred around the food, not to mention all the food festivals we’ve got coming up, from the North Leeds Food Festival to Harrogate and Temple Newsam.
I always love the food on offer at Leeds West Indian Carnival.
This year I’ll be heading to Tramlines festival in Sheffield, WentFest and hopefully to Leeds festival too. Last year, I went to the Bolton Festival of Food and Drink, which surprised me with all the options, and the Great Yorkshire Show always has some of the best chef demos.
It’s not just festivals either. I’m a huge Leeds Rhinos fan, and never did I think I’d be enjoying a game while eating a wood-fired pizza.
Even when I’m hosting Extreme Robots, which is similar to the TV show Robot Wars but hosted live in arenas, we partner with food brands that fans will love as food is now an integral part of the experience.
In the summer, I’ll be taking the wife to experience a gig at Leeds First Direct Arena where we’ll be tasting a three-course gourmet meal in the lounge beforehand for a special pre-baby date night or baby moon.