Highlights this year include the annual cheese race – enjoy the spectacle of people racing 23kg cheeses UP Gold Hill – plus MasterChef stars, the street market packed with more than 100 food and drink stalls and a brand new food trail.
Shaftesbury Food Festival 2026 returns over the May bank holiday weekend with a new food trail, demonstrations by three MasterChef winners and finalists – and Gold Hill Cheese Race, with contestants carrying 23kg truckles UP the steep cobbled Gold Hill.
Add to these highlights the regular festival market, a sold-out quiz and a food-themed exhibition and you have a recipe for a tasty banquet celebrating the great food producers and hospitality scene in North Dorset.
The Cheese Race is the eccentric heart of the event – if the idea of running up that hill isn’t enough, imagine doing it with full weight truckles! This test of strength, stamina and very strong legs is Sunday morning’s big event and not to be missed. Crowds line the cobbled hill to savour every moment of pure theatre that sets the tone for the day.
One of the new features is the food trail. On Saturday 2nd, the festival looks outside Shaftesbury to some of the finest food businesses who will be opening their doors for the first Shaftesbury Food Festival Food Trail. This self-guided journey offers rare access to producers, farms and makers that shape Dorset’s food identity. Visitors are invited behind the scenes for tastings, conversations and a deeper understanding of the craft behind the region’s most distinctive flavours.
Participating locations include: Sorelle Dorset at Motcombe, Compton McRae at Semley, Madjeston Milk Station & Animal Park, Primrose Organic Produce at Marshall, Gold Hill Organic Farm at Child Okeford, Stoate & Sons’ historic Cann Mills, just south of Shaftesbury on the A350, Sprigs Co at Pythouse Kitchen Garden near Tisbury, Dorset Blue Vinny at Woodbridge Farm, near Stock Gaylard, Olives Et Al at Sturminster Newton, and Breezy Ridge Vineyard, off the A350 near Melbury Beacon.
The opening night Friday 1st May is an already sold-out Great Food quiz at Sorelle, the farm-based cafe at Motcombe. Hosted by locally-based private chef and regular television food presenter Philippa Davis and Carolyn Hopkins, the cheesemonger famed for her iconic 1969 Citroen HY Truckle Truck van, the evening brings together locals and visitors in a lively, convivial start that sets the tone for the days ahead.
The twin highlights of Sunday’s programme are the MasterChef demonstrations and the street market, where you can sample and buy many of the region’s most delicious products, from charcuterie to ice cream. Coinciding with the return of MasterChef to our screens, with its new presenting team Grace Dent and Anna Haugh, the festival stage will host three former stars of the competition, starting at 11.30am, with the 2014 MasterChef champion Ping Coombes, whose demonstration will combine bold flavours and personal storytelling.
At 1pm, 2014 MasterChef finalist Anurag Aggarwal will be featuring dishes from his Indian heritage – he is the author of the cookbook Indian Made Easy. The third demonstration, at 2.30pm, features Shelina Permalloo, who in 2012 became the first woman of colour to win MasterChef. Now a well-known cookbook author, restaurateur and television chef, she specialises in the food of her native Mauritius.
Brought to life by a volunteer-led team from Shaftesbury & District Chamber of Commerce, with support from Shaftesbury Town Council and The Kitchen Table Dorset bookshop, the festival is rooted in the community, rich in provenance and with an unmistakable sense of place. The street market on Sunday sees more than 100 food and drink producers showcasing artisan Dorset produce alongside international flavours, with an emphasis on quality, provenance and personality.
At 2pm on Sunday, Shaftesbury’s unique ancient tradition, the Byzant, begins at the Town Hall. The Byzant Ceremony, which dates back to 1364, takes its name from the ceremonial mace, which is usually on display in the town museum. Its significance relates to the precarious water supply which Shaftesbury suffered, with its hilltop position. The town had problems with a reliable water supply, until an agreement was reached with neighbouring Enmore Green, down the hill, to use their well water in return for some tribute including silver pennies, bread and ale. Traditionally, wildflower posies called Tussie Mussies are handed out for participants to carry on the walk down the ancient route to Enmore Green.
The street market runs all day, with live music, busking and entertainment, including the Steps in Time junior dancers, led by Penny-Jane Swift, bringing traditional Maypole dancing, colour and rhythm into the town centre. Shaftesbury Arts Centre hosts A Feast For The Eyes, an exhibition of food-inspired artwork by Maja Barker, Alison Turner, Joanne Rutter, Kate Toms, Becca Perl, Lucy Bentley and Charlotte Lorimer. The Grosvenor Arms is the venue for the children’s art competition, with prizegiving at 3pm.
For those worried about parking when the town centre is closed, there is dedicated Park & Ride at Port Regis School, with capacity for up to 600 cars – £5 per car. Advance booking available: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/park-and-ride-to-shaftesbury-food-festival-tickets-1987056807401
