Bury St Edmunds Food and Drink Festival 2023 a ‘huge success’

A town’s food and drink festival proved to be a ‘huge success’ with thousands flocking to taste all the event had to offer.

The Bury St Edmunds Food and Drink Festival, organised by Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District (BID), returned for its 11th year and has continued to go from strength to strength with food stalls selling cuisine from around the world.

The second day saw professional chefs from The Olive Grove, Three Kings, Bay Tree Café, and Lillian’s Kitchen take to the stage to show audiences how to prepare their favourite dishes.

Mark Cordell, CEO of Our Bury St Edmunds, said: “It was a huge success with all of our traders saying they had very good event.

“My gut feeling was that it was just as busy as last year which was record attendance. The entertainment at the arc was very well received and very busy.

“All of our local hospitality businesses that performed on stage did a cracking job and there was large audiences for all of them.”

The urban beach made a comeback during the festival and will stay for the rest of this week, giving more families the opportunity to enjoy the attraction.

There was also free face painting for children, paid for by Our Bury St Edmunds, but people could leave a charitable donation. St Nicholas Hospice Care was also collecting money around the town.

Mark added that the festival helps to showcase the town.

“It’s the largest single event that is now organised in the town. We use it as a way of showcasing the town as a great hospitality offer. We believe we’re the foodie capital of Suffolk.”

This year the food and drink festival coincided with 31st East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.