a media partner, The Staff Canteen is proud to be covering the event, so here’s a little taster of the treats in store…
from farm to fork.
As Lee Maycock says: “We felt that we didn’t want to do the normal hotel chef conference where chefs just watch each other do demonstrations. We wanted to do it but do it differently so we decided to put it in a field and keep it really rural, natural and earthy.
"We try to do something to suit everybody because we’re all very different, whether you’re in pubs and restaurants or hotels, or you’re a development chef or contract caterer; we all have different roles and we wanted to make sure that everyone got their own piece of the day – hence the name universal.”
The name, as well as suggesting inclusiveness, forges a link with the past. According to Lee it harks back to the turn of the century and the Royal Horticultural Society’s food and cookery shows. These events were called the Universal Cookery and Food Exhibitions and were organised 
by the Universal Cookery and Food Association which itself evolved into the present-day Craft Guild of Chefs.
There are some elements to this festival which those old chefs would recognise and others they would not. There will be a farmers’ market split into seven main areas: fish, meat, game, cheese, deli, fresh produce and drink and equipment. There will be wild foraging tours culminating in clay pigeon shoots and there will be live debates with industry panellists. There will even be a street food market with some if the UK’s best street food stalls providing lunch as well as a colourful backdrop. Lee Maycock: “A lot of the street food trade have these amazing vans which are all very colourful and characterful and it gives the whole thing that real festival feel.”
Most exciting of all perhaps are the live demos going on throughout the day presented by some of the UK’s top cheffing talent. 
ng women chefs Mary-Ellen McTague of Aumbry Restaurant in Manchester and Michelin-starred 
g the most successful parts from last year. Lee Maycock says: “Last year we put on an indoor/outdoor event and we were blessed with the weather so everyone was outside. If it had poured down everyone would have been inside. We’ve learnt from that and this year everything will be outside under one big marquee. We’ve added a lot of new things like the clay pigeon shooting and the street food and it already feels like it’s going to be a bigger and better event than last year.”
Lee's words sum up the ever-expanding ethos of a new festival with an ambitious eye on the future. “We already have enough ideas to fill up the next four or five festivals,” says Lee. “The challenge sometimes is to rein ourselves in; ideas are not a problem.
"In terms of the future we want the Universal Cookery and Food Festival to be the place that every chef wants to attend every year and becomes part of the industry calendar.” The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
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