FIRE-COOKED FEASTS CONFIRMED AS CAMP GOOD LIFE BOASTS THE SHORTEST JOURNEY BETWEEN FIELD AND PLATE AT ANY FESTIVAL #Events
Victoria Hayes
15th July 2022
Camp Good Life is pleased to confirm the latest additions to the line-up which makes it the most distinctive small festival for food in the country. Camp Good Life is a small festival – the capacity is deliberately held at 1000 people – which means that all of the events, shows, discussions and happenings are intimate and imbued with an atmosphere of community.
Ticketholders are guaranteed close-up, memorable experiences with some of the greats in their craft at an exceptional event on a spectacular and ancient historic site. Camp Good Life runs from 16-18 September 2022 at the Hawarden Estate in Flintshire, North Wales, a hotbed of political history with a 14th century castle that was pivotal in the history of England and Wales. The festival is just a few miles from Chester and only a short hop further to Liverpool and Manchester.
The newly-confirmed food line-up is the latest example of an event that offers rare chances to savour the craft of some of the country’s great chefs at very close range. Ticketholders will find themselves around an open fire with the likes of chef and food sustainability advocate, Xanthe Gladstone; former head chef and chef director at Petersham Nurseries (Michelin Green Star), Damian Clisby; vegetarian cooking virtuoso, Joe Woodhouse; and Matthew and Iain Pennington, the owners and chefs at award-winning restaurant, The Ethicurean (Michelin Green Star), as they prepare and cook evening feats to be enjoyed amid the beautiful surroundings.
For three days in September, Camp Good Life materialises on the estate and the festival audience is invited to settle in and call the place home. The festival finds its way into both castles, as well as the Walled Garden, Victorian Teahouse, 1920s cricket pavilion, boathouse and lake, the wildflower meadows and ancient woods.
Camp Good Life (and its predecessor The Good Life Experience) was the first festival to challenge chefs to cook only over campfires and, this year, a magnificent spread of chefs will take to the festival’s giant open firepit.
Among the hosts of intimate, communal Campfire Cooking Sessions will be Cornwall mainstay, Emily Scott, whose new restaurant Emily Scott Food opened at Watergate Bay in 2021; chef, author and long-time cookery teacher at the River Cottage, Gill Meller; Leith’s-trained chef, recipe writer and food stylist, Olia Hercules; environmentalist and Group Chef Director at THE PIG Hotels, James Golding; award-winning chef, restaurant owner, activist and author Tom Hunt; recipe writer, cookbook author and Great British Bake Off semi-finalist, Flora Shedden; serial Yotam Ottolenghi collaborator and co-writer of Ottolenghi Flavour, Ixta Belfrage; champion and driver of British Caribbean culinary culture, Marie Mitchell; co-founder of Bristol’s Bib-Gourmand-holding Root restaurant, Rob Howell; and fire and charcoal expert, the ‘wood whisperer’ Mark Parr, creative director of London Log Co.
Camp Good Life aims to be truly different from any other small festival, in quality, community and -crucially – generosity. To celebrate the sheer quality of the food line-up and bring people together in shared experiences, every festival ticket includes a voucher for a free meal every day, an unprecedented festival bonus that Camp Good Life is exceptionally proud to instigate. Two of the festival’s favourite food vendors, Toastie Toastie and Open Sesame, will create Camp Good Life Special meals, which will be free to weekend campers
This year, Camp Good Life joins with Caught by the River and Heavenly Recordings to present a line-up of quality and eclecticism that is unrivalled for a festival of its size. Artists include one of the country’s most consistently brilliant songwriters, former Pale Fountains and Shack frontman, Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band, whose new record, Dear Scott, is being hailed as the greatest of the year by many good judges; multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Laura Groves, now signed to Bella Union; a very rare live solo performance by Ivor Novello award winning songwriter Simon Aldred, aka Cherry Ghost; and multi-talented H. Hawkline (who, we have on good authority, will be releasing new music around this time).
Writers and authors include Saint Etienne’s pop connoisseur Bob Stanley discussing the birth of modern pop music; Ali Millar on The Last Days, her gripping memoir about escaping a religious movement; consistently sparkling writer Jude Rogers on the beautiful hold music has on our lives; and music press mainstay and The New Cue editor, Ted Kessler, on the last days of the music press.
Tara Gladstone, Director of Camp Good Life, said, “Our fiery feasts and free festival special meals are part of our aim to be the best small festival anywhere and we hope our audience will relish everything. The festival is full of unique elements; we have a breath-taking site, a beautiful farm shop, and an untouched political treasure trove that will be opening for the festival. And, aside from having our best ever line-up, we also make things very pleasant for everybody, so, we have the best showers and finest toilets to be found at any festival anywhere.”
FESTIVAL INFORMATION
Full line-up, weekend, day and family tickets and all vital information at thegoodlifesociety.co.uk
Dates: 16-18 September 2022. Address: Hawarden Estate, Flintshire, Wales, CH5 3FB.
—