Visit to the Essex Food Festival

We changed the schedule today so I could share our visit to the Essex Food Festival. We’d been meaning to go for years and finally booked tickets in plenty of time. It was a chance to celebrate local produce and enjoy a day dedicated to great food.

The festival took place at the beautiful Cressing Temple Barns, which is a lovely reminder of how green and picturesque parts of Essex are. People sometimes get the wrong idea about the county from television—our part of Essex is nothing like that on-screen image.

The weekend started with a bit of worry because I’d been unwell, but by Sunday morning I was feeling better and the weather stayed fine, so we headed off. The event featured over a hundred exhibitors offering a huge variety of foods: cheeses, cured meats, sausages, curries, marshmallows, muffins, pizza, ice cream and more. The aromas around the site were irresistible.

We began with a slow walk to get our bearings. At one stall I learned about Spice Queen and their range of spice mixes. They offered samples of a chicken curry, potatoes in tikka mix and a fresh chickpea curry, and explained that their blends aim to make homemade curry quick and easy while keeping a fresh flavor. It’s a great option for warm days when you don’t want to spend hours cooking, and we picked up several mixes to try at home, including Chicken Tikka and Chicken Fajita.

Next we visited The Bean Shack and tried a Crème Brûlée coffee. It delivered a gentle vanilla and caramel note without being overly sweet. They offer many interesting flavours, and it was tempting to buy a bag to brew at home.

A clear highlight was Dulci Bella’s marshmallows. These are soft, melt-in-your-mouth confections, each individually piped and filled with fruit or caramel. The fillings—caramel, passion fruit, lemon meringue, strawberry—made them feel indulgent and unique. If you love sweets, these marshmallows are a revelation.

As cheese lovers, we spent a good while at Drummonds Cheese. Their selection was impressive, from creamy cheddars to smoky varieties and blocks studded with caramelised onions. We sampled many and came away with a smoky soft cheese, a caramelised onion cheese (my favourite), and a strong mature cheddar. The variety made it clear there are local producers doing excellent work.

We tried a vast range of items as we moved between stalls: fruity drinks, smoky sausages (including varieties with bacon), muffins, pizza and more. By the end of the afternoon I felt happily full and satisfied.

One of the event highlights was a live demonstration by Jo Wheatley, winner of the 2011 Great British Bake Off. She prepared a chocolate cake and shared practical tips and friendly commentary. Watching a live demo from someone we admire was entertaining and instructive for home bakers.

For lunch we had plenty of options, including crepes, duck dishes, waffles and more. We settled on Baytree Pizza and Cheeky Italian for a quick, delicious meal. Baytree use a wood-fired oven and their pizzas cook in about 90 seconds. We tried a pepperoni pizza and a garlic bread pizza topped with sweet onions. The pepperoni had great flavour and the crust was crisp and fresh. The garlic bread pizza was comforting and cheesy with a lovely balance of sweetness from the onions.

Cheeky Italian provided a side of Italian-style fries tossed in herbs that complemented the pizzas perfectly. It felt like a relaxed, satisfying festival meal made with care.

Overall, the Essex Food Festival was a food lover’s dream: friendly stallholders, a wide range of local products, live demonstrations and great weather. I discovered several local producers I’ll be ordering from again. If you’ve dismissed Essex based on TV portrayals, a day like this is a reminder of the county’s rich food scene and beautiful locations.

We left already looking forward to the next festival. I’ll be back with a recipe next Tuesday—a Skinny Cherry Cheesecake Smoothie—so stay tuned. If you enjoy content like this, consider signing up to the weekly newsletter to never miss a post.