![The Big Feastival 2011 - around the festival site](https://cdn.efestivals.co.uk/photos/2011/bigfestival/Site-BigFeast2011-AJ8.jpg)
The Big Feastival 2011
Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd July 2011Clapham Common, London, SW4 9DE, England MAP
early bird £35 per day, or £65 including food, child (12-17) £25, under 12s free
Jamie Oliver's Big Feastival took over Clapham Common in south London for its inaugural celebration of fine food and good music last weekend, and eFestivals was there to see how it went.
As a new event The Big Feastival is committed to raising money for good causes with 25% of profits going to The Prince's Trust with the other 75% going to the Jamie Oliver Foundation. Given this we were really hoping to like it and be able to say good things about it at the end of the day.
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Naturally enough, what with this being a foodie festival, our first port of call is The Big Kitchen, where the great and good of the restaurant industry have been holding cookery demonstrations all weekend. Right now the big man himself is conducting a seminar alongside Italian superchef, Gennaro Contaldo.
Given the all-star billing we're not surprised to find the tent absolutely rammed. Up on the stage, something fishy's going on smoked salmon with a chilli flake, lemon and rocket dressing to be precise. After an animated performance and some impressive knife skills from Jamie, a tray of posh nibbles is readied. Gennaro dutifully steps down into the crowd with it and barely gets past the first row before the vultures have swooped.
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In order to keep things moving these stalls are operating on a token system rather than taking straight cash. Each of these tokens costs £5 from the main gate or one of the token stalls. Even with this system in place, the queues are already pretty daunting it's lunchtime and a vast proportion of the 3500 or so other people now on site appear to be thinking with their stomachs too.
Eventually we settle for some okonomi-yaki, a type of Japanese savoury pancake made from cabbage, egg, mushrooms and several other bits and bobs, cooked up on an open grill and then garnished with fish flakes and special sauces. It might sound a bit weird, but it tastes great.
After this we're still peckish so we make for the Mango Kitchen stall where they're serving up Malaysian style grilled chicken and fiery hot papaya salad. Delish, as Jamie might say.
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Never mind, with a pint of San Miguel in hand we decide to go for a meander around the site.
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From the W.I. Tent we stroll through the market area where Levi Roots is meeting punters and signing bottles of Reggae Reggae sauce. Actually, we might have made up that last bit. A little further on a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round mark out the mini funfair, where a long line of dads and their kids are queuing patiently. Next to this an old Romany style caravan is offering palm readings and such like.
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So far so good, but what about the music? Well, the distant sound of some laid-back yet thumping bass alerts us to the fact that Levi Roots has just started up over on the bandstand. We're not overly familiar with his singing career if truth be told, but hes brought a 9-piece reggae band along for the day and we have to say that both theyre sounding pretty good.
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Soon afterwards The Bees announce themselves on the main stage with 'Who Cares What The Question Is'. From the off it's a fun set from a band that never fails to impress, with a set list that includes a fantastic rendition of seminal Os Mutantes cover, 'A Minha Menina' to the rather more introspective 'These Are the Ghosts'. It's a bit of a shame (though not entirely unexpected) to see the vast majority of the crowd remain seated for the entire set, something that is perhaps on frontman Paul Butler's mind when he signs off the set with the words, "Enjoy your food."
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And so to Athlete. If we're being honest, we're not entirely sure about these boys. Theyve always struck as one of those bands that nearly made it, but then for some reason never quite did. Talking among ourselves as they launch into their first song we cant even remember the name of the one big hit they did have.
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As for us though, we're ready to make tracks. It's been a good day out, but we're not really feeling the need to eek out every last minute of it. And then, on the way out, the song we knew we knew but couldn't remember the name of starts up 'Wires'. Ahh yes, of course.
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They only real problem we have is with the price and portion control of the food stalls. Anyone who's ever been to Glastonbury will know how easy it is to exchange around £5-7 for a plate loaded with great tasting, healthy, organic food. Here, by contrast, everything seems a bit, well measly. It's undoubtedly good food, but there simply isn't enough of it per portion. Not for a fiver anyway. Perhaps £3 would be more like it.
Truth be told though, there really isn't much else to moan about. The VIP area (which for £125 a ticket includes access to an exclusive stage-side bar, unlimited booze and 'posh' toilets) strikes us a bit divisive and unnecessary, but given that it's probably helping to subsidise the cost of regular tickets as well as keeping under-12 admission free, we'll let it be.
All in all, it's been a pretty good first-time effort from Jamie, so hats off to him. The Big Feastival is a distinctly civilised affair that delivers good family fun, foodie thrills and some reasonable live music in a relaxed, informal and civilised setting. If you're into fine food and good music, then you'll more than likely have a good day out too.
![around the festival site](https://cdn.efestivals.co.uk/photos/2011/bigfestival/Site-BigFeast2011-AJ4.jpg)
review by: Audley Jarvis
photos by: Audley Jarvis
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