Bolton Food & Drink Festival

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

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Bolton Food & Drink Festival

22-25 August 2025

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Bolton Food & Drink Festival
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Bolton Food & Drink Festival returns for its landmark 20th edition this August Bank Holiday weekend, taking over this Lancashire town with the standard of eye-catching line-up we’ve come to expect from these award-winning organisers. 

Bolton might be smaller than Manchester and Liverpool, but it punches above its weight on the UK food scale. This is one of the nation’s biggest free food festivals, with over half a million visitors last year and yet more expected this time round. 

Everything takes place in the streets around Bolton Town Hall, bringing together over 200 artisan food traders, street vendors offering global cuisine, outdoor bars and a Festival Garden in Howell Croft for quick and easy bites and drinks. 

It’s not all food, glorious food – there’s a pleasing crossover with the local arts scene, with plenty of independent-minded craft stalls dotted around the place. 

The celebrity chef line‑up is a major draw this year. James Martin celebrates his 15th appearance with exclusive demos on Monday 25th, while the high chief of British cooking, Marco Pierre White, makes his festival debut on Saturday 23rd. 

Legend has it that old Marco is the only person capable of turning his former protégé Gordon Ramsay into a quivering wreck, so come along and be in the presence of high-T greatness. And while you’re at it, enjoy a cookery demo and Q&A event that includes a ploughman’s lunch and drink, courtesy of the man himself. 

Free regional chef demos run across Victoria Square North throughout all four days, showcasing culinary talent from across the North West. Other special events include the Faulty Towers Dining Experience, a wine tasting and afternoon tea hosted by wine judge Helen McGinn at the Albert Halls. Plus themed performances like Sheer Luck Holmes murder mystery dinners and a gala opening soirée on Friday. 

Live music ranges from main stage acts on Le Mans Crescent, such as nineties legends East 17 and hall-of-fame disco group Odyssey (now there’s a mashup we’d love to hear) to acoustic sets in Victoria Square South, plus street entertainers roaming the festival site, strutting their stuff. 

Families are catered for too, with a Children’s Zone offering crafts, interactive performances and youth cook‑and‑dine sessions (including chocolate‑making led by local chocolatier Andrew Cameron) through Bolton’s Holiday Activities & Food scheme. 

Believe it or not, the festival is free to enter –  tickets are only needed for special events and chef demos. 

Whether you’re a foodie, a family-member or live music fan, Bolton’s biggest summer party has the lot. Peter Kaye might be Bolton’s favourite son, but the Food & Drink Festival is far and away Bolton’s favourite scran.

Where to go near Bolton Food & Drink Festival

Manchester
Food hall
Kargo MKT

Mighty food hall in Salford Quays, with around twenty street food vendors, serving a huge range of cuisines.

Asap Coffee Interior/ Counter
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
ASAP Coffee

If you’re looking for quality coffee and a decadent brunch in a setting that nails the Northern Quarter brief, you’d struggle to do better than ASAP Coffee.

Interior of George St Chapel
Manchester
Event venue
George Street Chapel

This beautifully restored former Independent Methodist Chapel in the heart of Oldham is as much a creative hub as a heritage landmark.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Pho Cue

Family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. Prepare to queue for Pho Cue.

Come to Swithens Farm for a great family day out in Leeds. Our farm has plenty to offer whatever age you are!Swithens Farm is a working farm. For many years now Ian and his wife Angela have built a following that they welcome in all year around. We now have a farm shop, café, playbarn and petting farm. When we first opened we only had the usual farm animals – cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and it was free entry. We now have llamas, alpacas, meerkats, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys and a pony.On the working farm, we breed our own cows, pigs and sheep and we sell the meat through the farm shop and the café. If you buy a sausage sandwich from the café the sausage will be from the butcher who has made the sausage by hand using our own pork. We also produce our own free-range eggs.
Leeds
Swithens Farm

Swithens Farm is a working farm. For many years now Ian and his wife Angela have built a following that they welcome in all year around.

Peak District
Restaurant
The Chequers Inn

The Chequers Inn is a 16th century, family-run, traditional country inn with an impressive dining space. The Peak District at its best.

Testbed Main Space
Leeds
Event venue
TESTBED

TESTBED is a newly renovated 10,000 sq foot event venue in Leeds that offers endless possibilities for creating unique and inspiring experiences.

Manchester
Restaurant
Salt & Pepper

Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.

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