As spring returns to full bloom, we welcome the return of one of our favourite events of the year; The Sheffield Food Festival. Once more, traders will pack the city’s heart to the brim with the finest food and drink Sheffield has to offer. With hours of entertainment and countless stalls to browse and try tastes from, this four-day festival is a must for everyone!
A decade of Sheffield Food Festival
The Sheffield Food Festival celebrates Sheffield’s rich food scene, showcasing the city’s incredible local food and drink producers, and it has done so for the past ten years. The festival will feature countless stalls from outstanding Sheffield businesses, ranging from restaurants, growers, street food vendors, bakers, sweet makers, and much more. Of the 50+ traders participating this year, 90% are locally based. In addition, of course, there will be an enormous variety of street food stalls offering cuisines from around the world. So there is something for everyone when it comes to filling your belly. The festival is the city’s most extensive free-to-attend event in the city centre, and it’s happening again this May with thousands of visitors coming to Sheffield.
This year’s festival
As always, the festival will spread across several locations in the city centre. You’ll find four areas to explore; the traditional Street Food section, an Artisan Market, the Info Village and a Main Stage and Bar. These stalls and eateries will be throughout Sheffield’s Peace Gardens, St Paul’s Parade, Millennium Square, Town Hall Square and Pinstone Street, with the info village in the Winter Gardens.
Featuring in the Street Food Section are some firm favourites of the Sheffield food scene; Sunshine Pizza, VorV, and China Red, to name but a few. In the Artisan Market, you’ll find expert food producers who make supremely delicious products. We’re excited to try Lucela’s premier sprites, which we think will pair nicely with delights from The Brownie & Bruffle Co.
Once you’ve got your tasty treats, it’s the perfect time to head to the Main Stage and bar, where a complete programme of events is on all weekend. The main stage, a solar-powered camper van stage sponsored by Indie-Go Resurrection & Maddog Kitchen, a live music, bar, and food venue, will surely be the highlight when you visit. There will be 16 acts and 2 DJS, with a great mix of artists and genres playing all day. Then during the festival, there will be three free special events in the evenings. On Friday night, Drag Bingo hosted by Emma Maezin; on Saturday night, it’s Disco Night with Hannah Fey; and the formidable Steel City Quiz will be on Sunday night, led by Christopher Blackmore. And there will be prizes!
But suppose you are looking for something more educational to keep the kids occupied or yourself? Why not take them to the info village, where many organisations will provide talks and workshops on food, the environment and green issues, plus, you guessed it, more food! In fact, the ShefFood team will have a stall on Saturday and Sunday, so please come and say hi, as we love talking about all things food, and you can ask us about the Local Food Action Plan we are launching in June. Swann Events are the new festival producers this year, and we are excited to see how they bring our favourite foodie festival to life.
All the details
So, down to the nitty-gritty of when and where. The Sheffield Food Festival for 2023 will take place in and around the Peace Gardens next to Sheffield’s Town Hall. The festival runs from Friday 26th – Monday 29th May 2023, and stalls open from 10 am to 6 pm. After 6 pm, the special evening events will be hosted. It’s free entry, of course, with vendors offering various priced meals and products. This is one of the best events of the year to showcase the amazing food scene in Sheffield, so come on down to experience four fantastic days of food
