We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.

Deciding what food to buy and take to a festival is always challenging – it depends on which festival you are going to and how you are getting there. Travelling on a bike might obviously limit your choice compared to a campervan.

Over the years, we think we have perfected what we need to survive and thrive at a festival. Our simple, unwritten rules are the following:

1. We need nutritious food that is safe to eat. It has to be light to carry, tasty, won’t melt, get squashed or go off.
2. We focus on a hearty breakfast, snacks during the day and buy one meal. At festivals that don’t get going until late afternoon – we might also cook a quick pasta/stir fry/gnocchi lunch. At Glastonbury Festival there is too much to do to waste time cooking and the food for sell on site is amazing.
3. We always have a cup of tea/coffee to start the day.
4. We limit washing up – we have one pan that we use for cooking and eating out of. We reheat it with soapy water to clean it – simple.
5. We time our frozen food. We freeze our milk and any bacon – they keep the cool box colder and we use them as they defrost.
6. We carry light-weight snacks around the site to give us energy, to avoid buying expensive junk food and to soak up the alcohol.

See also our post, Glastonbury Festival Food and Drink

Equipment

We keep it simple. This is what we take:

• One portable gas cooker stove and gas cannisters
• One small, lightweight pan
• One kettle and two travel mugs
• Paper bowls, plates, napkins, wooden forks, two spoons, two teaspoons
• Small tongs, wooden spatula and spoon, scissors (for opening bacon etc.)
• Small container of washing up liquid, a sponge, two tea towels and two pegs (to hang them on the tent to dry with)
• Tin foil for wrapping food
• Cool box and large ice packs
• Water bottle and pint cup
• Small bin bags – to take rubbish to the bins
• Mirror – for making sure we look good.

Breakfast

We keep it simple. This is what we have:

• Cup of tea/coffee
• Fruit juice (always good with a parched mouth)
• Bowl of cereal
• A yoghurt/yoghurt drink/frozen frube (depending on room) – mind they don’t ‘explode’ in the bag!
• As the milk disappears, we eat brioche, malt loaf, instant porridge pots.

Snacks

We keep it simple. Nothing better than finding a bag of sweets, nuts or biscuits in your day pack in the middle of the afternoon. The trick is to go for small and light, that can be thrown into your bag. 

Simple meals

We keep it simple – one pan meals.

These are our go-to simple meals:

• A simple bacon sandwich
• 3 bean chilli, tortillas and parmesan cheese
• Gnocchi with parmesan cheese and black pepper
• Stir fried vegetables and noodles

Alcohol

1. Check festival information for rules on alcohol. Glastonbury Festival allow you to bring any amount as long as it is for your own consumption. Some festivals limit what you can take into the campsite. Some will only allow you to bring in on your first trip through the turnstiles – once you have a wristband on – you cannot bring more in. Some festivals will allow alcohol in the campsite but not in the arena.
2. No glass bottles. Security will remove any bottle they find. We once watched in awe as an elderly couple sat quietly in their chairs next to a security check point and drank an expensive bottle of champagne they had brought – rather than see it go in the bin. Some festivals will provide plastic bottles to decant your liquids – do it before you go.
3. Remember – you have to carry it in, and it won’t stay cold for long. However, as the Glastonbury Festival website states, prices on site for buying alcohol is ‘equivalent to London pub prices’ so pack carefully.
4. If you are under 21 or look under 21 – you will have to show ID to be served at the bars. Glastonbury Festival will provide Challenge 21 wristbands – available from Property Lockups and Information Points with valid ID such as a passport or driving license.