02 Dec 2025
The Foodies Festival is returning to the St Albans campus of Oaklands College next year, and promises to be bigger and better than ever before.
With Pub in the Park no longer happening in Verulamium Park, it looks like the rival event is taking full advantage of its demise and offering major new features, headline talent and expanded experiences.
Taking place on the Smallford campus site on May 29-31, next year’s event has already confirmed performances by Scouting for Girls and Symphonic Ibiza, with many more acts soon to be announced.
The city’s ‘Gastro-Glastonbury’ also promises appearances by MasterChef champions, Great British Bake-Off winners and Great British Menu finalists – and this time you can book meet and greet sessions with culinary stars and selected music talent.
Foodies is also offering an enhanced VIP experience, more family content ranging from scavenger hunts to kids’ cookery sessions, and new immersive features including Ready Steady Cook Off, kitchen disco, fire stage challenges and a dogs’ dinner programme.
Spokesperson Jo-Anna Sell explained: “Foodies has always been about creating a fun, relaxed weekend where people can enjoy great food and music together.
“For 2026, we’re building on the features our audience already loves like interactive cooking demos, local artisan stalls, and live performances while introducing a few exciting new experiences, such as the wellbeing village, meet and greets, Ready Steady Cook challenges and other family fun games, the new tasting theatre where people can come along and learn how to build a cheese board, make chocolate, learn about charcuterie and much more.
“We will even have a dedicated space for our doggy visitors next year so they can be spoilt and get involved with games too – Our goal is to enhance the festival without losing the familiar, welcoming vibe that makes it special.”
All tickets for 2026 will also remain frozen at this year’s prices: “Keeping prices accessible is really important to us. We want Foodies to be an event that everyone can enjoy, whether it’s a first visit or a yearly tradition. We carefully balance quality and affordability so that the festival remains inclusive for all our guests.”
So does the end of Pub in the Park locally offer an opportunity for Foodies to attract guests who might otherwise have gone to the Verulamium event, especially as it is much cheaper than Tom Kerridge’s showcase? “We’ve always had a strong focus on creating a festival that’s approachable, fun and full of variety. For those who have enjoyed Pub in the Park in the past, we’d love them to come and experience Foodies, where they’ll find the same high-quality food and music in a really relaxed setting.
“The closure of PitP in St Albans is certainly a chance for maybe some new audiences to discover us of course, but we’re focused on what we do best rather than positioning ourselves against another event. Foodies Festival is all about enjoying exceptional food, watching exceptionally talented chefs and bakers showcase their dishes, amazing live entertainment and a welcoming atmosphere that feels like a celebration for the whole community.”
MasterChef champion Dhruv Baker is set to return to St Albans next year after a previous appearance in 2023, and he can’t wait to come back:
“Having cooked at and now hosting the chefs theatre foodies for about 12 years I’ve grow very fond of that wonderful food festival. And, what I have realised is that cooking live at those festivals is one of the things I enjoy most. Being able to interact with the audience while cooking is great fun and with the Foodies crowd it’s never short of a few laughs!
“I can’t wait to be back at St Albans and will enjoy it immensely. I always makes sure I have planned my cookery demonstrations well in advance, but sometimes as the host I have to step in at the last minute in which case it’s a quick dash around the exhibitors and stands to find some ingredients and then think on my feet!”
For tickets and more information about next year’s festival visit www.foodiesfestival.com
Photos from last year’s event by John Andrews
