The Great British Food Festival

What The Great British Food Festival does

The Great British Food Festival, operated by Cheshire Food Festival Ltd, is a UK-based seasonal events business that runs a multi-venue food and music festival circuit across historic estates in England and Wales. Founded in 2010 and operating for 16 years with over 1 million cumulative visitors, the company produces weekend food festivals at five 2026 venues — Holdenby House (Northamptonshire), Lydiard Park (Wiltshire), Wentworth Woodhouse (Yorkshire), West Horsley Place (Surrey), and Margam Park (South Wales). The core product combines street food, artisan markets, live chef demonstrations, celebrity chef appearances (with alumni of Great British Bake Off, MasterChef, and Gogglebox), live music, family entertainment, and a curated set of paid add-on experiences including hands-on live fire cooking, masterclasses, kids cooking sessions, foraging walks, a VIP lounge upgrade, a Mini Zoo, and a Cake Off competition. Ticket categories include Adult, Child, Family, Flex (any day), and Everyday (all days), with free entry for under-5s and a Rainy Day Guarantee. Free parking and access to the host estate are bundled at most venues.

The business generates revenue from five streams: direct-to-consumer ticket sales, paid add-on experiences (£5–£25 each), street-food trader pitch fees with a £5-per-order settlement mechanic, on-site food/beverage/retail spend, and sponsorship — currently anchored by Ocado as headline sponsor. Go-to-market is event-driven, relying on the company's own website for ticketing, email newsletter, organic social, SEO, influencer and chef partnerships, and earned media coverage in major UK outlets. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding or parent organization and operates as a small, owner-led events team.

Name

The Great British Food Festival

Legal name

Cheshire Food Festival Ltd

Website

https://greatbritishfoodfestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Great British Food Festival is a UK seasonal events business that runs weekend food and music festivals at five historic estate venues across England and Wales, selling direct-to-consumer tickets and paid add-on experiences to families and food enthusiasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food and Lifestyle Festival Events

NAICS

Special Food Services (7223), Mobile Food Services (72233)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAJAGAL

Food Festivals & Culinary Events (Ticketed Tastings, Pop-ups)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Food & Drink Experiences (Culinary Tours, Tastings, Cooking Classes)

SECONDARYMPAGAFAE

Food, Wine & Beverage Festivals/Expos

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Exhibitions, Fairs & Expos (Consumer/Public)

SECONDARYTHAJAFAI

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Live Entertainment & Ticketed Events (Shows, Concerts, Sports Experiences)

Keywords

• Food festival events
• Live chef demonstrations
• Street food markets
• Culinary masterclasses
• Family festival experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling admission tickets to food festival events across multiple UK venues. Tickets are sold in categories including Adult, Child (5-17), Family (2 adults + 2 children), and Flex tickets for flexible scheduling. Pricing varies by venue, day, and ticket type with early bird discounts available.
2. Add-on Experiences: Hands-on culinary and entertainment experiences sold as add-ons to base tickets. Offerings include Kids Cooking Experiences (£10), Live Fire Cooking Experiences (£20-£25), Chef Masterclasses (£20), VIP Lounge upgrades (£20-£25), Paint & Sip (£20), Foraging Walks (£10), and Challenge Stage participation (£5). These premium experiences provide incremental revenue per visitor.
3. Trader/Vendor Pitch Fees: Street food vendors, artisan traders, and entertainers pay to exhibit at festival events. The company provides a platform for traders to sell products with promotional codes offering 20% discounts to customers, with £5 settlement per order at season end.
4. Food, Beverage, and Retail Sales: On-site spending from visitors purchasing street food, drinks, and merchandise from trader pitches throughout the festival grounds.
5. Sponsorship: Headline sponsorship from Ocado provides revenue and brand credibility. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available for advertisers seeking access to the festival audience.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Great British Food Festival operates multi-day food and lifestyle festivals at historic heritage venues across England (Holdenby House, Lydiard Park, Wentworth Woodhouse, West Horsley Place, Margam Park). Each event combines street food and artisan producer markets, live chef demonstrations on the Chef Stage, live music on the Main Stage, family entertainment, and paid add-on experiences such as hands-on cooking masterclasses, kids cooking, foraging walks, and VIP lounge upgrades. Tickets are sold to individual consumers and families via the company website.

Product overview

The Great British Food Festival is a UK-based food festival events company operating a multi-venue festival circuit. The core offering is the GBFF Food Festival Events featuring street food, artisan markets, live chef demonstrations, and family entertainment. The product architecture consists of the core event with included attractions (live music, entertainment, general admission) plus multiple paid add-on modules: Headline Stage with chef demos and food challenges, Mini Challenge Stage for family competitions, Live Fire Stage for hands-on BBQ experiences, Cook Taste & Learn Masterclasses for intimate cooking workshops, Kids Cooking Experience for children, Foraging Walks with expert guides, GBFF Lounge VIP upgrades, and Mini Zoo animal encounters. Tickets are available in Flex (single day) and Everyday (all days) tiers with Child and Family options, plus a Rainy Day Guarantee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Festival Event Admission Tickets Ticketed multi-day entry to The Great British Food Festival events, including access to street food and artisan markets, the Chef Stage, the Main Stage (live music), family entertainment areas, and standard festival amenities. Sold to individual consumers and families via the company website, with tiered pricing by age (adult, child) and date (early-bird vs. general).
• Chef Masterclasses

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million visitors served in 16 years of operation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• OcadoflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerOcado serves as the Headline Sponsor of the Great British Food Festival. The partnership provides sponsorship revenue and positions Ocado as the official grocery partner. Sponsorship includes prominent logo placement on the website header and event materials.
• Wentworth WoodhousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWentworth Woodhouse, one of the UK's most impressive historic estates with Europe's longest private house façade (618 feet), hosts the Great British Food Festival. The partnership provides the venue for the festival while attendees receive 50% off house and gardens tickets (normally £15.50).
• Holdenby HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHoldenby House, a historic Northamptonshire estate, hosts the festival. Festival tickets include entry to Holdenby House & Gardens (normally £12 value), providing mutual benefit for venue promotion and festival attendance.
• Lydiard ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLydiard Park in Wiltshire hosts the festival. Includes FREE parking (normally £6) and access to 260 acres of parkland, Lydiard House, and walled gardens. Partnership provides family-friendly attractions alongside festival entertainment.
• West Horsley PlacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWest Horsley Place in Surrey hosts the festival for the first time in 2026. Historic manor house featured in films including Enola Holmes, Howard's End, and BBC's Ghosts. Partnership offers discounted house and gardens access.
• Margam ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMargam Park in South Wales hosts a three-day festival event (Saturday, Sunday, and Bank Holiday Monday). Includes FREE parking (normally £8.50) and access to 1,000+ acres of parkland, Margam Castle, and adventure facilities.
• Wildlife DisplaysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWildlife Displays provides the Mini Zoo attraction at selected venues. Founded in 1978 by Bryan Paterson, the company brings hands-on wildlife experiences including snakes, tarantulas, meerkats, owls, and other animals for interactive educational encounters.
• Vegetarian SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Vegetarian Society Cookery School provides vegetarian and vegan cooking demonstrations and experiences at the festival through their COOK! program, featuring chefs Sam and Maz with over 30 years of combined experience.
• Daddy Bear GrillscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaddy Bear Grills hosts live fire cooking experiences - the first and only hands-on fire cooking experiences at a UK food festival. A British Live Fire Cooking Championship finalist, he brings sold-out woodland cooking experiences to the festival stage.
• Tellus Mater (Lizzy Farmer)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLizzy Farmer, founder of Tellus Mater, provides foraging walks and wild food education. Member of the Association of Foragers with expertise in seasonal foraging and sustainable living.
• Fred Gillam (Fred the Forager)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFred Gillam, known as Fred the Forager, is a founder member of the Forager's Association and Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. Provides foraging education and appears on BBC Countryfile and ITV's For the Love of Britain.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BBC Good Food Show: Major UK consumer food show with chef demonstrations, producer markets, and tasting sessions held at Birmingham NEC and London Olympia. Comparable ticketed culinary event with strong celebrity chef presence.
• Taste of London: Premium food festival in London's Regent's Park featuring chef restaurants, demonstrations, and tasting experiences from top UK restaurants. Comparable as a ticketed culinary event experience targeting similar demographics.
• Foodies Festival: One of the UK's largest touring food festivals operating across multiple cities (London, Oxford, Bath, etc.) with chef demos, live music, and street food. Directly competes for the same family and foodie attendee base as GBFF.
• Pub in the Park: Tom Kerridge-led touring food and music festival across UK venues featuring chef demos, live music, and street food. Comparable as a multi-venue UK food festival circuit with similar GTM.
• The Big Feastival: Alex James's food and music festival held at Farm Fest in the Cotswolds, combining chef demonstrations, street food, and live music. Comparable family-friendly food festival experience in the UK.
• Abergavenny Food Festival: Long-running Welsh food festival featuring chef demonstrations, producer markets, and tasting experiences. Comparable as an established UK food festival with similar event-driven model.

Regional players

• Hampton Court Food Festival: Historic estate-hosted food and music festival in Surrey, UK, with chef demonstrations and live entertainment. Comparable event format at a single premium heritage venue versus GBFF's multi-venue model.

Emerging players

• Meatopia: Fire-cooking focused food festival in the UK featuring chef-led whole-animal barbecue demonstrations and tastings. Overlaps with GBFF's Live Fire Stage offering with Daddy Bear Grills.
• River Cottage: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's food brand hosting cookery courses, dining events, and festival-style experiences. Comparable as a UK culinary event operator with chef-driven programming.

Broad incumbents

• Taste Festivals: Global food festival operator running Taste of London, Taste of Paris, Taste of Dublin and others. A broader incumbent with international scale and premium restaurant tie-ins comparable to GBFF's event format.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GroovyRev
• Instagraminstagram.com/thedirtyrockinscoundrels
• Facebookfacebook.com/thedirtyrockinscoundrels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-great-british-food-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Great British Food Festival