Ashford Food & Drink Festival 2025 proves to be a Town Centre hit

The third Ashford Food & Drink Festival – sponsored by Ashford Designer Outlet – took place on Saturday 28 June and was a resounding triumph, with thousands taking part in the festivities.

On a bright and sunny day in the Ashford Town Centre, scores of residents and visitors enjoyed the offerings from over 60 food and drink vendors as part of the United Makers of Kent Food and Creative Market and ASHFOOD! at Elwick Place, whilst also participating in demos and talks from Ashford based businesses such as Kokoro, Social Enterprise Kent, Valerie’s Wine Bar and Ashford Salsa.

Such was the overwhelming demand for the event that some vendors had to stop taking orders early, as they’d sold all of their delicious culinary treats way before the 6pm closing time!

In addition, The Cardboard Kitchen and The Great Sarnie Trail, located by the bandstand and organised by Little Land and Craftship Enterprise CIC, were hugely popular with children, whilst street theatre acts from Applause Touring and Beautiful Creatures Theatre brought many smiles and cheers to families.

One of the acts – Caspian’s Storm – filled out the lower part of County Square on three separate occasions, while Radio Ashford’s Sam Griffin kept the masses entertained with her live DJing over on the Community Spotlight Stage.

The fun wasn’t just restricted to the high street, though. Over at Elwick Place, The Ashford Cinema hosted a pizza making masterclass in the morning, while in the afternoon, ASHFOOD! was jam packed with people enjoying more food and drink, including vendors from Curious Brewery and Simply Ice Cream, as well as live entertainment throughout the day.

The winner of The Great Ashford Sandwich Competition, in association with KMFM, was declared by The Mayor of Ashford, with resident Sarah Williams taking the top prize for her ‘Brie Me Sunshine’ submission – a sandwich formed of bacon, brie and mango chutney!

Ashford’s Mayor, Cllr Lyn Suddards, presented Sarah with a certificate and her winning prizes of a £150 Everest Inn meal voucher and a £200 voucher from The Entertainer, while local businesses Café M, Matches and Low Key Taproom will sell the winning sandwich for the whole of July.  

To whet the appetite for the Ashford Food & Drink Festival, on Friday 27 June at Revelation Ashford, the Wine Garden of England once again hosted their ever successful ‘An Evening With’ in collaboration with Boys Hall, which was wonderfully received by a packed audience of wine and food lovers.

Attendees were tutored through eight different wine tastings, alongside a welcome drink, complimented by local produce from the award-winning Ashford restaurant and soundtracked by live jazz music from Jonny Hepbir.

Ashford Borough Council would like to extend its warmest thanks to everyone who attended the Ashford Food and Drink Festival, in addition to all the businesses who helped make the day such a success.