Food festivals showcase some of the finest cuisine available around the world, as well as renowned chefs and wine and beer specialists.
If food is your religion, you should put these festivals on your bucket list.
Make sure you put these incredible gastronomic travel events on your calendars, purchase airline tickets, and begin saving.
It will be an unforgettable experience. Also, prepare for the trip of a lifetime as you travel the world eating.
Without much ado, here are some of the food festivals around the world.
1. Nairobi Restaurant Week
The annual Nairobi Restaurant Week is an event that occurs at the end of January and lasts into parts of February.
Food lovers are offered the best of foods at reduced rates for 10 -12 days a year.
Nearly 80 three-star to five-star kitchens participate in the celebration, treating their clients to exclusive menus that are only accessible once a year at a competitive price, even during the festival.
At some of the fanciest restaurants in Kenya, the festival offers an excellent opportunity for budget-friendly meals and activities.
Visitors get to chat with the chefs, workers, and hotel managers during the fest and enjoy free or subsidized drinks.
Do let us know in the comment box below if we missed anyone; you can also share your experiences if you attended any of the above food festivals.
2. The Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival
Naturally, one of the top spots on this list goes to the Food Network’s most eagerly awaited event of the year.
Your favorite Food Network celebrities congregate in Miami Beach for a 5-day event where they demonstrate their incredible culinary abilities live.
Past guests have included greats like Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, and Emeril Lagasse.
More than 80 activities are also included in the festival, including lectures, private dinners, parties, tastings, and the well-known Oyster Bash.
Also, you can find a wide selection of superb meals, wines, and spirits in the Grand Tasting Village, which you shouldn’t miss.
3. Montreal Table
The 150 restaurants participating in this 11-day food festival in Montreal, Canada, provide three-course meals for $21, $31, or $41.
The celebration is held in the autumn, just before a gentle dusting of snow falls across the nation.
Also, the food more than makes up for the chilly Canadian weather.
4. Hokitika Food Festival
New Zealand is the setting. It enthusiastically honors anything that is West Coast-related.
They allow you to have some gourmet treats and some of the typical cuisine. A very open mind is advised because there are many diverse foods to sample.
5. Charleston Wine + Food
During their annual four-day food festival in March, Charleston’s fantastic food scene improves even further.
The festival’s focal point is the focal point of Culinary Village, located in Marion Square in the heart of Charleston, South Carolina.
Get a day pass to enjoy delicious food, fun activities, and other fresh, novel events that change the year.
The event showcases the top eateries and chefs in the region and honors Charleston’s culinary expertise.
While you can expect to find plenty of Southern staples like fried chicken, shrimp, and grits, they also provide fantastic wine, seafood, burgers, and many other dishes you shouldn’t miss.
6. La Tomatina
It’s like playing Holi with tomatoes, as the movie “Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara” beautifully puts it. Spain’s Valencian town of Buol is where it happens.
When a brawl broke out between a few strangers in Spain in 1945, they began throwing tomatoes from a neighboring fruit stand at each other.
On that day, having a tomato fight steadily started to become custom, and the authorities were powerless to stop it.
Because of the size of the festivity, more than 1.5 lakh tomatoes are consumed.
The “Palo jabón” event, which takes place during the last week of August, marks the beginning of the festival at ten in the morning.
Furthermore, using hoses, the participants are doused with water to make the work seem more daunting.
The tomato fight, in which tomatoes are flung from vehicles, begins if someone manages to knock the ham off the pole.
The tomatoes are grown specifically for this festival in Extremadura, where they originate.
7. Maine Lobster Festival
It often takes place in Harbor Park in Downtown Rockland, Maine, which has a view of Penobscot Bay in Maine’s Midcoast.
This festival is a treat for lobster fans, with a variety of lobsters on exhibit (try 20,000 pounds!).
The sea prince and princess announcement occurs after the festival’s “Big Parade.”
This festival has numerous bands, floats, marching groups, etc. The festival also includes a section for entertainment.
This year’s all-star cast includes Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Vanilla Fudge, Peter Rivera, and Kim Simmonds from Savoy Brown.
8. Sarlat Truffle Festival
The region is well-known for its regional gastronomic delights and is a prominent hub for black truffles, frequently referred to as “black gold” in France.
At the mid-January Sarlat Truffle Festival, a delicious array of meals and products prepared with the potently perfumed mushroom are on display.
The black truffle, appreciated for its rarity and intense flavor but not dedicated to modern art, is often confused with the Belgian-style chocolate confection that resembles its appearance.
The event in Sarlat-la-Canéda also offers attendees the chance to visit the vendors.
It stands at the famed truffle market and enjoys a variety of foods, from delicate truffle slices on toasted bread to infused oils and fresh pasta laced with it.
There are also cooking classes, shows, and other events offered.
9. Texas Hot Sauce Festival
It’s impossible to argue against the fact that Texas, one of the top BBQ-producing states, also produces some of the best sauces in the nation.
For more than 20 years, the Texas Hot Sauce Festival has been held, and it is still going strong.
However, admission to this Texas food festival provides access to more than just a taste test of the best spicy sauce the state offers.
Additionally, you can sample salsa, barbecue sauce, Bloody Mary mix, and more.
10. Erfoud Date Festival
Morocco’s date industry is concentrated in Erfoud. Hence the event is centered thereon, thanks to the abundant harvest of dates.
This item is essential to the Moroccan economy. Since the dates are harvested around late September or early October, this celebration is typically observed during those times.
Companies that want to market their goods made using dates have a display set up.
In essence, it is a three-day carnival where the farmers can enjoy themselves, and visitors may see something simple and energizing.
Throughout these three days, more applications for palm trees are showcased.
The victor of the fashion parade, a component of the carnival, is dubbed “Miss Date”! As an illustration, items constructed from palm tree trunks are also on show.
11. Aspen Food and Wine
The location of this cuisine event is well-known. In the heart of the Colorado Mountains, it has a quiet beauty all its own.
It is a culinary festival where you may sample wines while enjoying delicious meals.
12. La Trace du Fromage
La Trace du Fromage is a French celebration of the natural splendor of Aveyron and cheese, the nation’s most famous export.
On a single Sunday, anyone is welcome to participate in this planned hike in the beautiful Aubrac region.
You’ll run into welcoming local food producers who’ll allow you to try some of their wares.
You’ll almost certainly try the local delicacy aligot and Laguiole cheese. Another favorite is mulled wine, which is warming.
La Trace du Fromage is a French celebration of the natural splendor of Aveyron and cheese, the nation’s most famous export.
On a single Sunday, anyone is welcome to participate in this planned hike in the beautiful Aubrac region.
You’ll run into welcoming local food producers who’ll allow you to try some of their wares.
Furthermore, you’ll almost certainly try the local delicacy aligot and Laguiole cheese. Another favorite is mulled wine, which is warming.
You will give a two-course dinner in Aubrac following the climb to round off a full day of exploration.
The trail has three configurations, from a stroll to a challenging hike. This is one of the best food festivals around the world.
13. The White Truffle Festival
It is a one-month festival that begins in October. White truffles are a rare variety of mushrooms that you can only find in specific regions of Italy.
They are astonishingly expensive; in 2009, a 1.6-pound white truffle went for $150,000.
However, as unbelievable as it may sound, it is true. The Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria, and Le Marche regions are where you may find truffles the most frequently.
The truffle festival, now in its 84th year, has vendors offering them in all sizes and forms.
This store sells every conceivable truffle-related product, from truffle oil to truffle cheese.
The greatest truffles are also auctioned off and bought and sold during an invite-only truffles auction.
The top chefs in the world travel to Piedmont, a little hamlet, to inspect the exhibits’ truffles and select the best ones.
14. Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China, called the Mooncake Festival, honors the moon and the year’s harvest.
Making and exchanging mooncakes, prepared from lotus paste with an egg yolk center to symbolize the completion and oneness of families, is one of the holiday’s customs.
Watermelon, cassia wine, tea, lotus roots—which stand for peace—and other dishes are also provided during the celebration.
Families leave their teacups outside at night and watch for the full moon’s reflection.
15. St. Moritz Gourmet Festival
The five-day St. Moritz Gourmet Festival in Switzerland annually honors the cuisine of world-renowned chefs. Last year, the festival focused on Japanese cuisine and its wide range of gourmet offerings.
Over 40 activities took place over the week, including the Japanese Tea Ceremony, nightly gourmet dinners, the Grand Julius Baer Opening, and the Chocolate Cult, where guests may sample various treats prepared with the best chocolate. Prepare to waste your chocolate.
16. Gilroy Garlic Festival
One sometimes overlooked ingredient that improves practically every dish is garlic. Garlic festivals in California celebrations are, in fact, a fresh and intriguing concept. Also, it takes place this year from July 25 to July 27.
It features live entertainment, cooking competitions, and lots of garlicky food. Garlic ice cream and French garlic fries were among the foods produced with garlic last year.
The Gildroy Garlic Festival has donated more than $10 million to regional nonprofit organizations and charities over the past 35 years. Attending the food market is excellent because funds are donated to worthy causes.
17. Lyon Bière Festival
Beer lovers in France and throughout Europe have made the Lyon Bière Festival, which Bieronomy et l’Agence Tintamarre puts on in association with Le Petit Bulletin Lyon, a must-attend event.
Participants will get the chance to sample a variety of craft brews and ciders. You can ask the brewmasters questions on the brewing process, emerging trends, and food pairings.
The festival features French beer. With more than 100 brewers present, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Slovenia, Belgium, and England were represented.
La Sucrière, a significant building housing modern art in Lyon’s 2nd arrondissement, will host the event.
18. Tunarama Port Lincoln
The theme of this festival is seafood, as you might infer from the name. However, besides serving cold, fresh seafood, the Tuna Toss Championship is one of the festival’s most well-known activities.
Finalists will toss actual frozen tuna fish here, and the participant who tosses it the farthest will win.
You can participate in the slippery pole, boat building, and the tuna toss, or try your luck at winning the championship title!
This four-day festival takes place on the weekend closest to the Australia Day holiday. This frequently occurs in January.
19. Chinchilla Melon Festival
The town of Chinchilla, which produces up to 25% of Australia’s melons, hosted the first melon festival in 1994. The initial festival’s goal was to lift the city’s spirits following a protracted period of severe droughts.
As the game competitors put on their watermelon skis and gracefully glide over the juicy rink during a Melon Ski race, prepare to see a little bit of a hilarious mess.
In addition to the marathon, the Chinchilla Melon Festival has additional events, including pit spitting and melon bungee.
20. Texas Citrus Fiesta
This annual festival in Texas has featured the Parade of Oranges and the Product Costume Style Show since the 1930s, with lavish costumes made from citrus and other regional Valley goods.
It starts in late January and honors the citrus harvests in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Vaquero Cook-off, a barbecue tournament with various events like Pan de Campo and citrus desserts, is also a highlight.
21. New Orleans Wine & Food Experience
The Wine & Food Experience in New Orleans draws more than 7,000 gourmets and ecstatic fans from all over the world to share the stage and astound foodies with their abilities as it steadily develops into one of the most magnificent culinary events in the world!
Due to the abundance of small-scale, you will also see art and music fans, food specialists, and chefs at the event.
Even yet, fantastic music performances take place concurrently to keep the visitors amused while they chow down on delectable fare and sip the finest wine.
You’ll be astonished to learn that hundreds of restaurants and wineries are participating in this massive food festival, especially given that it’s expected to beat the record for being one of the world’s most sophisticated food festivals around the world.
22. Poteet Strawberry Festival
One of Texas’ best food events is this one. A little town in New York called Poteet receives over 100,000 visitors yearly for the Strawberry Festival.
In addition to the procession, dances, art exhibition, rodeo, and “Taste of Texas” culinary show.
Also, nationally renowned country music singers and Tejano performers perform in this event, which has been around for about 60 years.
23. Grape Throwing Festival
One of the oldest food celebrations is the Grape Throwing Festival in Mallorca, Spain, which started in the 1930s as a humorous means of getting rid of grapes that couldn’t be used to create wine.
Here is a fun alternative if paintball is your favorite sport. You can run to the vineyards and start throwing grapes at everyone you see. The decision to apologize later or never is yours.
If you don’t want to end up all sticky and pulpy, you could attempt the simultaneous grape-threading and grape-stomping activities instead! This is a joyful September activity.
24. Oktoberfest
In the Oktoberfest food festival, huge glasses of tasty alcoholic beverages will go perfectly with giant pretzels.
Every year, this particular event draws millions of partygoers and their families. In Munich, it’s never too early for a few drinks.
Drinking starts as early as 10 am, which makes this clear. Also, you can express your genuine self (there is no one here to judge you) and dance to top-notch music performed by numerous live bands.
The 16-day Oktoberfest celebration occurs in the middle of September in Munich.
25. New Yam Festival
The Igbo people of Nigeria hold the yearly New Yam Festival in the first few days of August to celebrate their cultural heritage.
The Iri Ji celebration, which means “eating new yams,” is celebrated throughout West Africa (mainly in Nigeria and Ghana) and many other African nations.
It marks the conclusion of one farming cycle and the beginning of the next.
A festival is a cultural event that brings together several rural Igbo communities that depend on yam, the crop king.
At the start of the event, the yams are typically initially presented to the gods and ancestors before being dispersed to the locals.
The eldest man in the community, the monarch, or other dominant titleholder performs the ritual.
26. West African Food Festival
The West African Food Festival has been hosted annually in Ghana since 2017.
Leading West African chefs are drawn to the event to prepare food from their home countries and present it for public consumption.
Furthermore, the occasion seeks to promote harmony and peace through gastronomy.
Visitors to Ghana can now sample distinct flavors of West Africa at a safe cooking competition between chefs from the participating nations.
27. Taste of Paris
What could be more ideal than a single site where you could experience a wide variety of treats from the best cafes, bakeries, patisseries, and gourmet shops in Paris? Visitors have the opportunity to do just that during Taste of Paris.
Every year in the spring, under the magnificent glass roof of the Grand Palais, chefs and restaurateurs gather for four days of tastings, cooking demonstrations, “meet and greets” with well-known and upcoming chefs, and culinary workshops.
One of the food festivals around the world is this one. Spend an afternoon exploring the festival’s temporary eateries and vendors.
About 100 of them attended the event, which started in 2015 and is now a regular on the gastronomic calendar.
28. Bole Festival
Bole festival is a popular Port Harcourt street cuisine that includes roasted plantains, yams, sweet potatoes, and roasted fish with correct pepper sauce.
The Bole Festival was established in 2016 to showcase the rich culture and variety of well-known food, focusing on Southern heritage. It honors the distinctive Port Harcourt street food.
The festival had an increase in attendance from 300 guests in 2016 to a record-breaking 25,000 attendees in 2021.
Despite the rain, there were more than 28,000 attendees and more than 100 vendors from all over Nigeria throughout the two days of the Bolè festival, which took place in August 2022.
29. Ivrea Orange Festival
There’s never such a thing as too many food fights; the Ivrea Orange Festival proves that.
Starting in 1808, the fierce and fun battle of oranges became a yearly reenactment of rebellion by the citizens.
During the festival, participants from organized teams will get together and attack one another with fresh oranges.
All you need to do is pick your side and attacccckkkkk!! This is a festival on 6 March.
30. The Pancake Race, Olney, Buckinghamshire
The Olney Pancake Race isn’t new; it’s a tradition dating back to 1445. The first time it happened, a housewife brought a pancake in a rush to church.
Now, homemakers and young ladies of Olney are required to engage in a timed race of 415 yards in a scarf and apron.
The highlight will most likely be watching the ladies flip the pancake during the race! This takes place 47 days before Easter Sunday.
31. Monkey Buffet Festival, Lopburi, Thailand
We do not like eating monkeys, so this festival does not provide you with an unlimited supply of monkeys for food.
This can easily be considered one of the world’s most impressive and amusing food festivals. Here, animals are allowed to eat, and the humans get to watch!
With our sneaky little jumpy friends going wild amidst the 400 kg mountain of food laid out before the temples of great Thailand, the scenario can become even crazier than the Hatter’s tea party!
32. Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Festival
If looking at many people happily tumbling down the hill behind a big round of cheese is something that amuses you, you may want to mark down the dates for the Brockworth cheese rolling festival on your calendar.
This is an annual event that starts with the rolling of a 7-pound cheese down the hill.
Despite several high injury counts, such as broken bones and sprains, hundreds of people go ahead with their hill dives every year to catch the 7-pound cheese circle. This is on the last Monday of May.
33. Fruit Festivals, South Africa
In South Africa, several food festivals are devoted to fruits grown in the region.
The Cherry Festival in Ficksburg, the Kiwi Festival in Limpopo, the Uitenhage Prickly Pear Festival, the Strawberry Festival in George, and the Olive Festival in Cape Town are fruit-focused food festivals in South Africa.
These fruit festivals are vital for the nation’s fruit industry as they present the region’s best products to the target market and buyers worldwide.
34. Haro Wine Festival, Haro Spain
Who wouldn’t like to be drenched pink from head to toe? If you want to try that, then the Haro Wine Festival is likely the only time you can get someone’s clothes ruined for fun.
Head to Haro, Spain, on 29th June to experience the most challenging food and drink dilemma ever.
35. Giant Omelet Celebration, Bessieres, France
Do you prefer omelets for breakfast? How about we all share one that’s bigger than your house?
According to French legend, Napoleon had once ordered that every egg in town be gathered and broken to make a giant omelet after he had eaten his own! We do, too.
To this day, the people of Bessieres carry on the tradition where professional chefs gather together to make a 15,000-egg omelet for the good people of Bessieres on Easter.
36. South Africa Cheese Festival
The South Africa Cheese Fest is one of the most notable food festivals in South Africa.
The iconic and famous wines of South Africa and globally are exhibited at this festival in Cape Town.
Wines, beers, and several food products that blend well with different alcoholic drinks are part of this food festival.
This three-day festival occurs in April, and prominent performers, food auditoriums with famous top chefs, tournaments, and a cheese carving competition entertain.
This award-winning cheese festival has many delicious cheese dishes and many kinds of preserves, jams, and bread on show.
37. Bugfest, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Have you ever had bugs served on your lunch plate? Oh yes! Here’s a fun festival entirely dedicated to bug dishes, and they do well to exhibit a variety of bugs and the words they make with them.
This one is exactly what you think it is! If you would like to attend the Bugfest, you can do so on the 28th & 29th February 2020.
38. The Night of the Radishes, Oaxaca, Mexico
Otherwise, the time of the year when people carve and create exciting scenes out of oversized radishes, this one is an annual folk art competition that has become one of the most anticipated food festivals in Mexico.
Amateurs and artisans will have to make works of art, and you will be able to watch and get inspired by their artistry and creativity!
This event takes place from 23rd December to 1st January.
39. Shisanyama Food Festival, South Africa
Wine is a popular South African commodity as the country makes some of the world’s finest wines.
The Stellenbosch Wine Fest is one of the oldest wine festivals worldwide.
This celebration is organized every year in February and is one of the country’s best wine festivals.
It is a three-day event where individuals can taste wine combined with a range of foods and purchase some of the country’s most outstanding wines as well.
There is a dedicated food section at the wine festival, and it is genuinely a fantastic event in South Africa.
40. GTbank Food and Drink Festival
The annual food sales and display event called the GTBank Food & Drink Festival attempts to project the various angles of the food industry by linking different companies engaged in manufacturing and selling food-related products to a cosmopolitan community of food enthusiasts.
41. Street Food Festival, South Africa
This is one of Cape Town’s leading food festivals in South Africa and runs for ten days.
It is a yearly food festival and has a pop-up stall, food trucks, various cuisines, street food choices of all kinds, and a tremendous fun environment for music.
Popular dishes such as bunny chow, vetkoek, bobotie, and several other local cuisines play an integral role in South Africa at this food festival.
This street food fest also has a range of food choices from around the world, such as pizza, cheese balls, tacos, and many other popular street meals worldwide.
This happens to be one of the best food events in the world, and during this street festival, tourists mainly visit Cape Town to experience this city’s musical food festival.
What do you think of our list of best food festivals from around the world? Let us know in the comment section, which is your favorite? which did we miss?
