Stop what you're doing RIGHT NOW and clear your calendar for the weekend of 5 May, because we've got an event you hands-down won't want to miss: a food festival devoted to fried chicken. Yes, really. Street-food fest organiser KERB is the brains behind this phenomenal idea, and it's rounded up eight traders to tantalise your tastebuds, including Mother Clucker, Other Side Fried, Daja Chicken, Only Jerkin. Over the course of the two days, there'll be birds (obviously), bars (hello Beavertown and Bacardi), incredible sides and a whole host of other dishes, as well as music and robo chicken racing. Tickets are £20, and for that you get eight portions of chicken and a free drink. Mhhhmmmm. KERB, we salute you.
Our prayers have finally been answered: there's going to be a whole, weekend-long festival devoted to oozy, gooey cheese. Mmmhmm. Camden Market is throwing the two-day party, playing host to London's best urban cheesemakers, cheesemongers and street-food traders. There'll be local craft beers, wine, cocktails, live jazz and blues, and stalls selling produce. Then, of course, will be the traders themselves: look out for The Cheese Bar from The Cheese Truck, Kappacasein, Gringa Dairy, Mac to the Future, Wildes Dairy, and more. And just because this isn't any old cheese fest, there'll be ticketed tastings and talks, too, so it'll be good for your belly and your mind. Kind of. Just don't blame us when you can't fit into your jeans.
Once considered merely a more affordable alternative to sparkling wine, the reputation of prosecco is ever-growing. That's culminated in a weekend festival that brings together some of the Italian wine region's best-loved producers, big and small, as well as masterclasses led by the East London Wine School and loads of Italian food options from chef Paolo Eles, too. Oh, and because where spring and prosecco collide, there's usually Aperol involved, you won't be surprised to find an Aperol Spritz bar, in the midst of Oval Space, either. Snack, sample, and take some of your favourite bottles home if you fancy it.
Who said our friends across the Atlantic don't know how to party? It certainly wasn't us. That's because this year, Brooklyn Brewery Mash – the brand's annual beer-fuelled spring/summer celebration – is turning Dalston's MC Motors into what it's calling a Beer Mansion, with the beers inside representing the different immersive rooms' themes. There'll be brewers from the UK and US involved, as well as food traders, too.
We know you drink London Dry, but in case you were in any doubt about how far the clear spirit du jour has spread, look no further than gin festival Junipalooza, which welcomes more than 50 distillers from 14 countries across a weekend in June. There’ll be a huge bar, tastings from rafts of unique gin brands and a special masterclass area that’s new to the festival this year.
