Universal Cookery and Food Festival returns

Dubbed the Glastonbury for chefs, the Universal Cookery and Food Festival (UCFF) is returning this year, complete with a stellar lineup of top chef demonstrations, foraging, farm tours and live panel debates. The event also includes a brand-new feature for 2024 – The Staff Canteen Live Stage. 

Designed for chefs by chefs, the festival changes location every year, taking the event directly to chefs all over the UK. This year's festival will take place at Loddington Farm, a fifth-generation apple and pear farm nestled in the heart of the Kent countryside in Maidstone, on Thursday, 26 September. 

UCFF 2024

This year's attractions include the Farmer's Market, showcasing a range of local and national produce and catering suppliers; and Foraging, where Colin Wheeler-James from Ground Up Cookery will take guests on a foraging walk around Loddington Farm to discover how they can incorporate wild plants, berries and nuts onto their menus and diets. Guests will be given the chance to taste a range of products made with wild ingredients and learn how to capture and preserve seasonal flavours, as well as how best to utilise them to boost sustainability scores across menus. 

The Harvest Walk will also allow visitors to see Loddington's farming methods. After the walk, the founders of Musket Brewery will take to the stage to uncover the process of brewing, followed by a beer-tasting session. 

Brand-new for 2024, the team from The Staff Canteen will be running a Saturday Kitchen-style demo stage, sponsored by Quality Meat Scotland, McCormick and Seafood Scotland. Some of the nation's greatest chefs will be interviewed while cooking, including Robert Taylor from Tallow in Tunbridge Wells; Galton Blackiston, chef-patron of Michelin-starred Morston Hall; Robin Read from The Counter by Robin Read; Harry Kirkpatrick, head chef at Trinity; and Jean Delporte from Restaurant Interlude. 

The event's trends and debates stage programme, hosted by food and drink broadcaster Nigel Barden, will also cover five key topics, including Allergens, which will look at how best to implement safe and workable practices; The English Grown-Upolution, discussing what the future holds for the UK and great wine production, and Grown Up Food, which will explore the work going on in the industry to address greenhouse gas emissions through methods of farming. 

Beyond all the key attractions, attendees will also get to enjoy a day-long feast starting at 8am with breakfast and culminating in a barbecue, all served up by some of the finest chefs in the country. 

Billie Moore, co-founder of UCFF, comments: "We are super excited to be headed to Maidstone, Kent, with UCFF 2024. As well as it being a great day out for chefs and foodies, it is also about educating our visitors, allowing them to learn from the very best within our industry. This is achieved through the fantastic mix of demonstrations, foraging, farm tours and live debates, as well as The Staff Canteen Live Stage. It's quite unique, and one of my favourite events of the year. We can't wait to get our chef community back together with this chilled and rustic backdrop."

To find out more about what’s happening at this year’s event and register to attend, please visit cookeryandfoodfestival.co.uk. This year’s ticket price is £125 plus VAT which includes complimentary breakfast, lunch, BBQ dinner and drinks all day. The beer provided during the BBQ will be sponsored by Musket Brewery.

You may also be interested in…