camp bestival Archives - Munchies and Munchkins

The Feast Collective & An Interview With DJ BBQ

July 15, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 4 Comments

The Feast Collective is my very favourite part of Camp Bestival. Mr Tumble may be my childrens favourite but the Feast Collective is without a doubt mine.

This years Feast Collective is shaping up to be an amazing culinary delight. DJ BBQ will be running the show. DJ BBQ is one of the Jamie Oliver FoodTube presenters as well as an awesome DJ. He will be telling you all about what’s on offer and mixing up some fabulous tunes for you to enjoy your dinner to.

This years offerings come from:

Biblos
The Cake Shop Bakery
The Cauldron
Dorshi
Happy Maki
Korrito
Le Rac Shack
Milgi
Seadog
Shrimpy
The Thoroughly Wild Meat Co
Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen

Plus much more..

Some food I tried at last years Feast Collective

Now let’s find out a little bit more from DJ BBQ shall we?

1.First of all, a question you have probably been asked a million times.. Why the spandex? Not that we don’t love it of course 😉

Well, I like to show off and it came from my DJ’n gigs. I would do multiple costume changes during my sets like Beyonce would do during a live show. I think a lot of DJ’s are boring to watch behind the decks so I wanted to give the crowd a bit more of a performance. Plus, I’m crap at mixing records so it is a distraction technique. hahaha.

2.What is your crowd pleaser dish?

It’s gotta be our 21 hour smoked pulled pork on Wild Cherry, Sweet Chestnut, and Oak. Our burgers are pretty special as well. We’ll be doing a blend of flank, brisket, and chuck at Camp Bestival as well as rad babe and dude(kid) burgers.

3.What do you enjoy most about cooking at festivals?

I like talking to the people and playing fun party tunes. We spin lots of vinyl at Camp Bestival which goes down well. Watching parents drag their kids over to show them the record and saying, “this is what we use to listen to when we were young!” The kids just looking confused as they normally don’t understand the process of a needle on a record. I also love serving up the best pulled pork in Europe.

4.It’s clear that you enjoy what you do with regards to both food and music. Did you imagine 10 years ago that you would be cooking up meat for thousands and entertaining many more in your spandex suit?

I had the epiphany at RockNess on the banks of Lochness about 8 years ago. I wanted to create a destination where people could eat and party. This is why I love the Feast collective. We have the best area of the entire Camp Bestival.

5.Is there one recipe in your book that people have to try?

My Dad’s Iowa flank steak recipe. So easy and tasty. Plus my kick ass fish tacos are to die for.

6.What is your earliest food memory?

I remember going fishing on the atlantic ocean with my grandaddy and catchin loads of croakers and spots. We’d spend hours cleaning about 100-200 fish. Bringing them home for grandma to cook up a fish fry. She’d coat them in corn meal and fry em up in a cast iron skillet. Soooo good. She served this bread called Spoon Bread that i’m currently trying to recreate. I also remember shucking corn with my Dad by the grill. He’s from Iowa and they eat a lot of corn.

7.Tell us something not many people know about you?

I have eight nipples. How cool would that be. Hmmmm. I used to make snowboarding movies for a living in the 90’s. We lived in an old school american school bus and travelled the planet making movies. I also delivered my third son on the living room floor with the help of my neighbor, Clare. The 999 lady helped on the phone as well.

8.In your time as DJ BBQ what has been your favourite event/festival?

When Rob Da Bank came over to our set up on the Saturday and saying, “I heard you had THE best soundsystem rocking last night of my entire festival.” YUP! we did.

9.Is there any band/artist you are excited to see at Camp Bestival 2015?

I haven’t seen the lineup yet. I just like listening to our crew of DJ’s. We easily have the best vinyl Dj in Europe. Neal Birnie, Everything is Everything.

10. And finally what will you be feeding us at CB?

We will be serving the world’s best smoked pulled pork and amazing burgers. Kids sizes and adult sizes and Giant sizes with the Ultimate Piggyback.
We may also be bringing over some German Bockwurst from the Black Forest courtesy of Herman ze German. We’ll also have merch and my book for sale as well. More than happy to sign it.

Me and DJ BBQ at last years festival:

Thanks to Christian Stevenson aka DJ BBQ for chatting to us and watch out for my post tomorrow sharing two of his fantastic recipes.

I’m A Camp Bestival Blogger

May 8, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 1 Comment

I have some exciting news to share with you this evening.

I’m an Official Blogger for Camp Bestival for the fourth year! I can’t tell you how this has made my day.

Camp Bestival has become a highlight of our summer and I can be found happily chatting about it quite often over on my social media channels and on this blog.

As always Camp Bestival has pulled out all the stops this year with a fantastic line up ahead of us. But I can talk to you about that in my next post.

For now here are some images from last years festival to whet your appetite a little:

My next post will tell you all about the pros and cons of camping and festival life with babies and small children.

Any questions you have let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Check out www.campbestival.net for more info and ticket options.

10 Reasons To Buy Your Camp Bestival Ticket Right Now

January 28, 2015 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 3 Comments

More of the Camp Bestival line up was announced today making families all over the UK super excited!

Here is the full announcement:

And here are my ten reasons why you need to buy a ticket right NOW:

1. Mr Tumble:

This was the look on my daughters face when she saw him perform last summer..need I say more?

2. Kaiser Chiefs:

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Rubayyyy…aahhhhhh ahhhh ohhhhh

3. Payment options:

At the moment there is still the option to pay by payment plan which is a bonus if you are useless at saving like me.

4. Boutique Camping:

Boutique camping is AWESOME and the various companies sell out quite quickly so if you have your heart set on a certain glamping option it’s best to be quick.

5. Dick n Dom:

Your children will love them as they are so much fun but they also have appeal for the adults and they are pretty lovely to everyone albeit slightly tipsy when you see them wandering around the festival site in the evening.

6. Level 42:

This festival really isn’t all about the kids. It’s a family festival which has something for all generations and even better if you are an 80’s child like me!

7. The Feast Collective:

This really shouldn’t be so far down my list as the food is one of my absolute favourite parts of Camp Bestival. I spend hours trawling around the various stands and munching on all that’s on offer.

8. The Dingly Den:

Many an hour can be spent in the magical forest. There is so much for the kids to do and can be a welcome respite on a hot day. We particularly loved wandering around in the evening when it was all lit up with fairy lights.

9. The Fireworks:

The firework show at Camp Bestival is truly spectacular and it’s worth the ticket price for that alone! You have to see it to believe it and the atmosphere is electric.

10. Getting creative with your kids:

Letting your children go wild with finger paint without having to worry about cleaning up is so much fun.

And there are about a million other reasons why you should go. It’s truly an incredible experience for big kids of all ages.

Vote For Camp Bestival

October 15, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

If you regularly read this blog then you know we are BIG fans of Camp Bestival.

To find out why you could take a look at the highlights video from this year:

Camp Bestival Highlights

If you take a sneaky peek at around the 1min45 sec mark you will get a little look at my family scoffing some food!

Camp Bestival have been nominated for Best Family Festival and Best Medium Festival in the UK festival awards and you can vote from them by clicking here

Look at the smiles on the faces of these three.. Proper family fun!

You could also vote for their sister festival Bestival as they are up for Best Major Festival, Best Dance Event and Best Headline performance for Foals.

If you are fancy getting tickets for next years festival why not check out the payment plan to split the cost: Camp Bestival Payment Plan

Our Camp Bestival Photo Diary 2014

August 7, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 2 Comments

We took lots of photos at Camp Bestival this year. Lots of blurry, hastily taken photos. To be honest we spent far too much time having fun to take proper, beautiful pics but some of them just about look ok 🙂

I thought I would share some of the pics which show you how much we enjoyed and then in my next post which will be a full review of the festival I will also include some of the really amazing photos taken by the festival photographers.

So here is our photo diary of this years festival:

Moving in…

Food…

Fun..

Creating..

Sleeping..

Nighttime..

Early bird tickets for Camp Bestival 2015 go on sale on Friday 8th August, click here for more details.

Camp Bestival Week 2014

July 29, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 4 Comments

It’s finally here. The week of Camp Bestival. It’s so close I can smell the bacon, feel the bubbles on my face and hear the roar of the crowd as Mr Tumble jumps on stage.

Last year at Camp Bestival was hard for me. I was pregnant and as a family we had a really stressful few months. Looking back I shouldn’t have gone really as I spent the whole time worrying about whether my pregnancy was going as it should or if I would need to dash off to hospital for the 100th time. I went for Izzy and she loved it. Anyway this makes this year all the more special. I have more energy ( even with a teething baby) TWO children to enjoy the magical world of Camp Bestival and we are glamping in a Hotel Bell Tent offering.. Plus this year CB has ALL the food..yes even more than in previous years.

This post is just a quick rundown of a few things we are looking forward to at this years festival:

1. Mr Tumble – he’s the top of the list every year I think and seriously one of the festival highlights for us. He puts on a brilliant show and it’s incredible to watch the children as he comes on stage.

2. Pretending I’m more than just a 30 something mum whilst dancing away to Basement Jaxx.

3. The food… The food.. The food. Smokestak, DJ BBQ, Paellaria along with Los Churros Amigos and some Purbeck icecream to finish up? I think so. Breakfast around the tent some days and hot chocolate while the children sleep blissfully in bed (HA HA HA) and even a frozen cocktail or two.

4. Listening to some comedy..with Milton Jones.

5. Getting back to nature with Project Wild Thing and The National Trust 50 things project.

6. Meeting up with my fellow Camp Bestival bloggers. There has been a real community feel amongst us over the past month and we have been sharing camping tips and discussing the very best non glass alcohol there is.. 🙂 It will be great to catch up with familiar faces and meet new ones as well.

7. We are also hoping to pop into the sneeze free garden hosted by Piriton which looks like a lovely spot for a family picnic.

8. Having toast and watching the crowds go by in the evening sat at The Soup Library:

And just to finish off some final packing tips:

Multitasking products:

You need to pack as light as possible whilst also ensuring you have EVERYTHING you need for you and your family. It’s hard. Products which do more than one thing always help. Such as:

Johnsons 2in1 shampoo & conditioner:

Great for the kids and we will use it too. We will probably shower twice unless the kids get massively sticky and grubby.

Muddy Puddles 3 in 1 waterproof suit

A waterproof coat which has a removable fleece liner so can be worn in 3 separate ways. Handy for wet days, cold nights or wet and cold nights!

MamaBabyBliss Baby Balm

A balm which can be used on the most sensitive baby skin but also on my skin too. Perfect for when my skin gets a little dry or if Chloe or Izzy get chafed skin.

Frozen cocktail pouches

These frozen pouches act as extra cool packs and taste so good when they begin to defrost. My kind of multi tasking.

Solar Power Buddy from Power On Demand LTD

This clever product can charge mine and my partners phones as well as the Kindle Fire HDX so that if Izzy wakes too early we can perhaps keep her quiet with something fun to watch or read.

Easy Food & Snacks

Yes the food at the festival looks awesome. Unfortunately I’m on a budget so we can’t eat out for every meal.

Snacks are important as I don’t want to be forking out for food everytime Izzy gets a little peckish. We are taking some of the fab new Mamia Fruit pouches from Aldi which are purse friendly and delicious according to my children. Rice cakes, crisps and bags of fruit are also winners. Breakfast biscuits such as Belvita are great on the go breakfast items. Yoghurts for the first day or so when the cool bag is still cool and chunks of cheese and crackers.

Quick and easy meals at the tent include:

Bacon sandwiches
Hot dogs
Pasta with a little olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes – so simple but so good
Soup
Frittata

We also take things like tinned rice pudding, tinned fruit, baked beans, peanut butter and bread for handy snacks.

I should also point out that food tastes SO much better when eaten outside.

Some final points.

There are a very small amount of tickets left. Do not miss out. Visit the Camp Bestival site for more info.

Why not check out some of my fellow bloggers posts before you go:

76 Sunflowers

Festival Cooking

July 23, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

We are off on our first festival holiday as a foursome next week and although we are excited its a little daunting too. Having to pack everything we need for everyone. Then having to think about food too..

There is a pretty amazing food line up at this years Camp Bestival so we will definitely be partaking of those delights some of the time but I’m on maternity leave so I do actually have to be a little thrifty for the most part.

Which means we will be cooking a lot of our meals in the festival fields.

Now Camp Bestival has a great set up in all of their standard, glamping and campervan fields with designated cooking areas and washing up areas but not every campsite or festival will have that.

A pop up or collapsible wash bowl is really handy:

Cooking in the outdoors especially with children and tents around can be dangerous so I’m loving the idea of this Flameless cookbox from e-outdoor.co.uk

It uses a water activated heat pack and is even safe to use INSIDE your tent. Brilliant huh?

Our first two years at Camp Bestival we used a traditional camping stove and made meals such as frittata and omelettes along with the usual camping staples of bacon, beans and sausages.

We normally take a flask to fill up with boiling water in the morning and use throughout the day if we want a cup of tea.

And we always take a small milk pan to make hot chocolates to have just before bed:

I will be writing a post this weekend about all the meals we plan to cook at Camp Bestival and also the ways in which we will be cooking it so look out for that.

What are your campsite specials? Are there any meals you always make when at festivals?

*This post is in collaboration with e-outdoor.

Festival Fashion – Part 2

July 21, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · Leave a Comment

Today’s Festival Fashion post focuses on the kids.

Starting with the children’s essentials to take to a British Festival. We have been sent some gorgeous bits from JoJo Maman Bebe.

First up ..wellies:

These kids wellyboots ( as Izzy calls them) are funky as well as functional.

Next sun hats because you know we will get showers followed by blazing sun yes?

These sun hats are really light and cool and look so adorable on the girls.

We have a really handy all in one mac which folds into a handy zip up pouch so we can just throw it into our rucksacks when we head into the festival fields for the day:

And because sometimes it’s no longer raining but it’s still super muddy and wet..these dungarees are perfect as they won’t make your child too hot but protects them from getting a soggy bottom:

I think once you have these for your festival kiddies and some sunglasses you have some of the absolute must haves for your festival suitcase..and don’t forget the sunscreen of course.

* We were sent these items for the purpose of a review.

Camp Bestival Packing List – Part 2

July 17, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 4 Comments

Another 5 Camp Bestival packing list essentials tonight:

1.Bibs:

You don’t want to take endless onesies and tee shirts so bibs are an essential. We love these cool bandana bibs from Funky Giraffe:

2.Plasters & Painkillers:

The last thing you want when you are miles away from home is a teething, screaming baby with no calpol or teething granules etc to soothe.. Or a teeny tiny graze which your toddler demands needs a plaster immediately to find you forgot your first aid kit. Pack it all.

3.Frozen cocktails:

This is a genius idea that I picked up from someone a few years ago. You buy cocktail pouches ( available from most supermarkets but also places like home bargains etc ) and freeze them then pop them in your cool bag to keep your other food items cool and as they defrost you can enjoy them sitting outside your tent whilst your children collapse in a tired heap after the busy days.

Worth checking out Camp Bestivals alcohol policy:

You are allowed to bring in your own alcohol (for personal consumption in the camping fields) but only up to reasonable amount per person. Once you have entered the event you cannot re-enter with more alcohol.supplies.

4. Buggys/wagons/prams etc:

The camping/boutique and campervan fields are a bit of a walk from the car park so use your buggy or wagon to make less trips back and forth. Most of the festival areas are grassy and well maintained but a pram or buggy with large wheels ( ideally an all terrain one) is best just in case the weather turns.

5. Baby carrier/sling:

You may not want to push your buggy about everywhere and your toddler/older child who may protest that they are too big for a pram will suddenly decide they are tired and need to be carried ALL the way back to the tent so a baby carrier is ideal. We are taking a Boba 4G which can be used for both Chloe ( 8 months old) and Izzy ( nearly 3yrs old).

That’s all for today… More packing tips tomorrow.

Camp Bestival Packing List – Part 1

July 16, 2014 · by munchiesandmunchkins · 2 Comments

It’s just over two weeks until Camp Bestival 2014 – we cannot wait!

Its time for me to start preparing and packing.. Yes it does take me that long and sometimes when I’ve something to look forward to packing is all part of the excitement.

So here is the first part of my packing list. In no real order of importance but all things I think are essential to your enjoyment and comfort at Camp Bestival.

1. Accommodation:

Be it a tent, a teepee, a campervan or a podpad thingy. If it’s a tent get it out now, air it and check for holes or damage. If you are glamping make sure you ask questions as to what is included so as to avoid unnecessary packing

2. Temperature control:

By this I mean be prepared for anything and everything. You will need light, cool layers for the (hopefully) gloriously, sunshiney days. You will also definitely need warm clothes for the evenings. For watching the shows and relaxing outside you need warm jumpers, snuggly hats etc. For bedtime you want fleecy pjs if you have them,thick socks and a good quality sleeping bag or thick blankets. For toddlers and older children a warm onesie is ideal with lots of thin blankets that can be thrown off or added as and when. For babies a winter sleeping bag is best with a onesie and perhaps a light extra top layer.

3. Something to sleep on:

As much as I love the idea of back to nature camping I don’t love the reality of sleeping on a hard floor for 4 nights. If you are camping for adults an air bed is necessary luxury. For toddlers why not use a readybed we used one last year for Izzy and will be doing so again this year. For babies a pop up travel centre is ideal and easy to transport. Also useful to take into the festival fields if it’s sunny.

4. The Bubbles:

Bubbles are more important than you can imagine at CB. Every child has them. There are stalls selling amazing wands and bubbles everywhere you look. Take some wands and bubble mix with you. Helps you keep to a budget and stops your child saying please mam..bubbles every single minute.

5. Something to sit on:

As I write this I remember that my camping chairs are broken. Arrgghh. Not good. Sometimes you will want to lounge around on the floor but most of the time if you are over the age of 20 you will want a chair.

6. Wet Wipes:

You will need LOTS of wet wipes. To clean grubby hands, wipe sticky faces and scrub away face paint. For lazy baths and wiping down buggies.

7. Fancy Dress:

Even if it’s just for the little ones. It’s all part of the fun of the festival. No idea what I’m going to wear just yet.

8. Ear Protection:

If you are a light sleeper use ear plugs at night and for your little ones you need ear defenders if you plan to get close to the stage. We used Edz which we picked up for about £10 from amazon.

That’s it for tonight. More coming up tomorrow.

Tickets are available by visiting www.campbestival.net

The Feast Collective & An Interview With DJ BBQ

Like this:

I’m A Camp Bestival Blogger

Like this:

10 Reasons To Buy Your Camp Bestival Ticket Right Now

Like this:

Vote For Camp Bestival

Like this:

Our Camp Bestival Photo Diary 2014

Like this:

Camp Bestival Week 2014

Like this:

Festival Cooking

Like this:

Festival Fashion – Part 2

Like this:

Camp Bestival Packing List – Part 2

Like this:

Camp Bestival Packing List – Part 1

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: