The Broadstairs Food Festival returns this October with a line-up of award-winning food stalls, live music, and free cooking demonstrations. The three-day celebration features top local chefs alongside food writers, with most activities completely free to attend.
New initiatives for autumn
New initiatives for this autumn include start-up stalls, a dedicated area for local buskers, and a youth leadership scheme. This year marks the first festival under new director Katherine Wyatt.
Katherine, who is taking the helm for the first time, said: "This is the first step in my journey with Broadstairs Food Festival. I want to build on everything people already love while finding new ways for the festival to support its community."
She added: "Running a small food, drink or hospitality business is challenging. Rising costs are putting real pressure on business owners, making it more important than ever to create affordable opportunities, connect businesses with new customers and encourage people to support independents."
Community Stalls and local support
A new Community Stalls project will allow new food start-ups to book a single-day pitch to test their products. Katherine commented: "We cannot solve every challenge, but we can lower barriers, create opportunities and use the festival's reach to help brilliant people and ideas get noticed."
She continued: "We also want the benefits to extend beyond the festival arena by encouraging visitors to explore Broadstairs and support its independent shops, restaurants and pubs."
The festival director praised the unpaid team who organise the celebration each autumn. Katherine added: "I've been blown away by how much our directors and volunteers put into making the festival happen. The time, energy and care they give is extraordinary, and most of it happens quietly behind the scenes. Their commitment makes me even more determined to protect the festival's future and inspire a new generation to get involved."
Live demos and entertainment
Profits from the reusable cup scheme will be donated to a local food bank to combat food insecurity. Quex Farms will bring its seasonal vegetable box scheme to showcase local, sustainable farming. Windmill Community Gardens Margate has been given a free stall to share its eco-friendly community work.
Local performers can entertain crowds at a new Buskers' Point on the grounds. Young people can gain event management skills through the new Festival Leaders programme starting this autumn.
The Kitchen Theatre features top chefs, including Allister Barsby of Hide and Fox and Stephen Harris of The Sportsman. MasterChef finalist Mark O'Brien and former Barrafina head chef Ben Wood will also take to the stage. Food writer Niki Segnit and entertainer George Egg round out the live cooking demonstrations.
Visitors can also buy tickets for a beer-tasting class with Jona Jewitt or a blind wine tasting with Alex Prymaka. The event is run by a volunteer-led community interest company that has supported local trade since 2008.
Date: October 2–4. Location: Victoria Gardens, Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1QL. Cost: Free entry (tickets required for select tasting masterclasses). For more information and tasting tickets, visit the Broadstairs Food Festival Autumn 2026 website.
