A Feast For All The Senses: Smoke And Fire Festivals Go ‘Large And Latino’ This Summer At Ascot And Maldon – Preview
Award winning Smoke and Fire Festivals (S&F) – the UK’s largest BBQ and outdoor cooking festivals celebrating the art of cooking with fire – are back this summer, promising to be even bigger and better with unique experiences and several firsts for foodie fans.
Top talent from across the culinary world, including chefs, butchers and food artisans, will showcase their skills to a wide audience of food and drink enthusiasts, making an unrivalled day out for all the family. And this year is set to debut exciting new features including:
Latin and South American Quarter with TACOVER
South American food is trending on the British food scene and the Smoke & Fire Festivals new summer line up won’t disappoint. Visitors can experience the vibrancy and excitement of a new Latin and South American Quarter in collaboration with TACOVER, the UK’s largest taco festival.
Food lovers will have the chance to enjoy a variety of bold and unique flavour combinations from some of the best Latin and South American street food vendors. Watch them compete for Best Margarita and Best Taco in the National Taco Awards, plus there’s the hilarious Tortilla Slap Challenge and the fiery Hot Taco Challenge – entertainment with a kick!
Asado Grill Master Demonstration Stage
Live-fire cooking takes centre stage when legendary chefs make their UK debuts. Bringing their authentic culinary styles and expertise to the stage,
Al Frugoni, a renowned Argentinian grill master and Salva la Cocina, a viral sensation from Castelar, Argentina will star alongside fire chefs from Mexico, Venezuela, and Brazil.
Ember Lounge
Experience exclusive live-fire dining at The Ember Lounge. This unique and immersive atmosphere away from the main festival excitement offers guests the chance to enjoy menus designed by invited fire maestros from across the globe, making it an unmissable culinary highlight.
Battle of the Bands
New in the line-up for 2025 are tribute bands Blurd vs Shoasis who will battle it out on stage at both Ascot and Maldon, promising an entertaining evening and the chance to relive the glory days of Britpop.
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Both festivals feature award-winning street food vendors, pop-up restaurants in BBQ Alley, which showcases the latest BBQs, equipment and accessories. There’s the Real Ale and Cider Festival, Fire Pit Club VIP lounges with Champagne and cocktails, plus DJs and music to help the party vibe. What’s more, families can enjoy fairground rides, bouncy castles, Roaming entertainers, and a thrilling bucking rodeo bull contest for the brave! Plus for those brave enough and wanting to test their own eating skills – check out the extreme chilli and hot wing eating challenges.
On the Feast and Fire Stage award winning fire chefs will create their favourite dishes live plus each S&F Festival plays host to its own unique competitions …
Smoke & Fire at Royal Ascot: 5-6th July 2025
The World Butcher Wars™ celebrating the art and science of butchery. Participants are tasked with breaking down a half lamb and a half saddle of pork, alongside chicken, with judges evaluating each round based on appearance, butchery skills, food safety, creativity, wastage, health and safety, and the overall appeal of the final display. The final winner will take home the prestigious title of the World’s Best Butcher.
Smoke & Fire at Maldon: 16th-17th August 2025
British Open Freestyle BBQ Championships™: Let battle commence! With a cash prize and thousands worth of BBQ equipment and accessories, there’s a new incentive for participants. The winner of the British Open Freestyle BBQ Championships™ will earn the chance to compete at the World Food Championships in Indiana USA during November with a prize purse of $300,000 up for grabs plus it’s a huge opportunity to showcase their skills on an international stage!
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Buy tickets for both festivals now directly from the website or Ticketmaster https://www.smokeandfirefestival.com/tickets/ starting from £20. Camping packages available exclusively at Maldon too.
About Smoke and Fire Events: www.smokeandfirefestival.com
Smoke and Fire Events is the organiser of the British Open Freestyle BBQ Championships ™ and the award-winning Smoke and Fire Festivals the UK’s largest BBQ and outdoor cooking festival that celebrates the art of cooking with fire. Known for bringing together top talent from across the culinary world, Smoke and Fire Events offers a platform for chefs, butchers, and artisans to showcase their skills to a wide audience of food enthusiasts.
SMOKE & FIRE FESTIVAL FUN FACTS
Visitors: 33,000 across its Ascot and Maldon Festivals
Burgers Served: 5,000+ burgers served across both festivals
(we eat a whopping 2.5 billion burgers in the UK a year!)
Wings Served: 19,000+ wings enjoyed across both festivals
Extreme Wing Challenge: The festival’s infamous wing challenge sauce features Pepper X, with an intense spiciness level of 2.693 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Pepper X holds the title as the world’s hottest pepper, dethroning the Carolina Reaper.
The World Butcher Wars™ drew competitors from over 17 countries, with even more entries anticipated for 2025. In the 2024 competition, Australia claimed victory, with Great Britain finishing in an impressive second place.