4 min readExclusive chef-hosted dining experiences will serve up a feast of summer truffle lasagne fritti, BBQ hogget, porchetta roasts, burnt honey crémeux and more
Great British Menu Champion of Champions Amber Francis, Michelin Green Star chef Chantelle Nicholson, former River Cottage Head Chef Mark Lloyd, Sonny Stores chef-owner Pegs Quinn and TV favourite Dean Edwards are set to headline Valley Fest's most ambitious food programme yet, as the Somerset festival unveils a series of exclusive chef-hosted Feast experiences for 2026. Book now at valleyfest.co.uk
Taking place across the festival weekend from Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August, the intimate long-table dining events will bring together some of the UK's most exciting culinary talent for a celebration of seasonal produce, regenerative farming and exceptional food.
Guests will have the opportunity to dine with leading chefs in an intimate setting overlooking the Chew Valley, enjoying specially created menus featuring ingredients sourced from the Valley Fest farm and local producers.
Image - L to R - Amber Francis, Chantelle Nicholson, Dean Edwards, Mark Lloyd and Pegs Quinn
Feast Highlights
Friday 31 July, 13:30 - 15:30
Pegs Quinn, Sonny Stores - The Long-Table Summer Brunch
A summer brunch showcasing Chalk Stream Farm trout crudo, lasagne fritti with taleggio and summer truffle, salt-baked beef rump and raspberry clafoutis with cold custard.
Friday 31 July, 17:00 - 19:30
Chantelle Nicholson, Apricity - A Seasonal Summer Feast
A seasonal feast from the Michelin Green Star chef who was previously group operations director for Michelin celebrity chef Marcus Wareing, featuring sweetcorn mousse with charred sweetcorn, slow-cooked pork collar with zhoug and blistered potatoes, and pavlova with raspberry and fig leaf custard.
Saturday 1 August, 12:30 - 15:30 and 17:00 - 19:30
Amber Francis, Great British Menu Champion of Champions 2025 - The Champion's Feast
A produce-led menu including housemade ricotta with heritage tomatoes, BBQ hogget with Valley greens and Community Farm vegetables, and burnt honey crémeux with sweet wine-roasted stone fruits.
Sunday 2 August, 12:30 - 15:30 and 17:00 - 19:30
The Regen Roast with Mark Lloyd and Dean Edwards
A celebration of regenerative farming featuring porchetta, Valley Fest beef or fire-baked squash, served alongside roast potatoes, wood-fired vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings, followed by BBQ peaches with vanilla crémeux.
The Feast programme reflects Valley Fest's long-standing commitment to connecting people with the food on their plates and the land it comes from.
Luke Hasell, founder of Valley Fest, said: "Food has always been at the heart of Valley Fest. We're incredibly proud to be welcoming such a sensational group of chefs to the farm this summer, each of whom shares our passion for seasonality, sustainability and outstanding produce.
"What makes these feasts special, alongside the pedigree of the chefs, is that guests are eating food inspired by the landscape around them, much of it grown or reared right here in the Chew Valley. It's a chance to experience world-class cooking in a setting you simply couldn't recreate anywhere else."
Among the headline names is Amber Francis, one of the UK's most exciting culinary talents, whose remarkable year saw her crowned Great British Menu Champion of Champions 2025, named SquareMeal x Ayala Female Chef of the Year and awarded the Foodservice Cateys Extra Mile Award.
She is joined by Chantelle Nicholson, chef-owner of London's Michelin Green Star-awarded Apricity and one of the UK's leading voices in sustainable hospitality; Pegs Quinn, whose acclaimed Bristol restaurant Sonny Stores has become a destination for seasonal Mediterranean-inspired cooking; and Mark Lloyd, whose career spans Michelin-starred kitchens, River Cottage, international television and acclaimed dining experiences through his 8 Plates concept.
The weekend concludes with The Regen Roast, hosted by Lloyd alongside Bristol-born TV chef Dean Edwards, known to millions through appearances on This Morning, Lorraine, Morning Live and MasterChef.
With limited places available for each sitting, organisers expect the Feast experiences to be among the most sought-after tickets of the weekend.
Tickets and further information are available at: valleyfest.co.uk
