The market runs 10am to 5pm on Parliament Street from 18 to 27 September, free. The bars go on to 9pm, and the two biggest names are on before it opens.

The York Food and Drink Festival runs Friday 18 to Sunday 27 September 2026, ten days on Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square plus events across the city. Entry to the market and the demonstrations is free. The festival is a not-for-profit, and says every pound from trader fees and ticket sales goes back into the next one.

The times, taken from the festival’s own visitor information:

What When
Festival market, Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square 10am to 5pm daily
Demonstrations, St Sampson’s Centre 12pm to 5pm
Festival bars 11am to 9pm, closing at 5pm on the last day

The two biggest names are on before the festival opens

This is the thing to know today rather than in a fortnight. The two headline ticketed events in the programme both happen before 18 September, at York Opera House on Cumberland Street, 7.30pm to 9.30pm:

  • Yotam Ottolenghi: Simple Too LIVE, Monday 7 September
  • Jay Rayner: Nights Out in the Kitchen, Monday 14 September

Neither carries a price on the festival’s listing, which says only “Varies”. If you had them pencilled in for festival week, they are not there.

What is free

All of these are free and unticketed, at St Sampson’s Centre on Church Street unless stated.

Date What Time
Sat 19 Sep The Dalesmen Male Voice Choir, marquee on Parliament Street 11am
Sat 19 Sep Freya Cox, the Bake Off baker, demonstration 12pm
Sat 19 Sep Radek Bak of Corner House Grill 1pm
Sat 19 Sep Harvey Maher of Fifth Flavour 2pm
Sat 19 Sep Lucy’s Pop Choir, St Sampson’s Square 6pm
Sun 20 Sep Owen Diaram, of Masterchef 12pm
Sun 20 Sep Florian Poirot, UK Pastry Champion 1pm
Sun 20 Sep Neil Bentinck, chef-proprietor of Skosh 2pm
Thu 24 Sep Florian Poirot 1pm
Fri 25 Sep Will McKee, Chatsworth Estate 2pm
Fri 25 Sep Florian Poirot 4pm
Sat 26 Sep Florian Poirot 1pm
Sat 26 Sep Claire Syrenne, of Masterchef 2pm
Sat 26 Sep Assize of Bread, main tent, Parliament Street 3pm to 5pm
Sat 26 Sep Darren Gurry, of Masterchef 4pm
Sun 27 Sep Florian Poirot 1pm
Sun 27 Sep Sharmini Thomas, of Sharmini Cookery 2pm

Live for St Leonard’s, the free evening music run by York BID in aid of St Leonard’s Hospice, is on 18 to 26 September, 5pm to 9pm, on two stages at once: the main stage in the Parliament Street marquee and an acoustic stage on St Sampson’s Square. It has raised nearly £9,000 over the last two years, and volunteers collect on the night.

There is also a free Kid’s Walking Tour aimed at pre-schoolers, running 10am to 4pm every day, with the activity sheet collected from the information point on Parliament Street.

The Food Factory, and its awkward weekday hours

The Food Factory is the free hands-on workshop programme at St Sampson’s Centre: bread, pasta, dairy including butter, ice cream and cheese, and preserving. Donations are welcome, no booking is taken, and it is open to all ages, though the festival says it suits adults and families with children over five.

The opening hours are not the same every day, and the midweek ones are much shorter than people expect:

Days Open
Fri 18 to Sun 20 Sep 10.30am to 5pm, last entry 4pm
Mon 21 to Thu 24 Sep 3.30pm to 4.30pm, last entry 4pm
Fri 25 Sep 12pm to 2pm, last entry 1.30pm
Sat 26 and Sun 27 Sep 10.30am to 5pm, last entry 4pm

On weekdays the building is running the schools programme, which the festival says brings in more than 1,000 children over the week.

Taste Trails: £12, and capped at 100 a day

The East and West Taste Trails and the Vegan Taste Trail each cost £12, or £8 for under-16s and over-66s, and each has around 20 stops. Tickets are limited to 100 per day. You can pre-book or buy a booklet at the information point while stocks last.

Two things to check before you set off. Some stops serve alcohol, so under-18s cannot do the whole trail, and some businesses close as early as 3pm even though booklets are handed out until 4pm. The 2026 participant lists are still being confirmed; the festival has published last year’s leaflets in the meantime.

And one contradiction worth knowing about. The same listing gives two different collection points for the trail booklet: the venue line says the information point is “In front of Skipton Building Society (35 Parliament Street)” and the body of the same entry says “In front of Claire’s (37 Parliament Street)”. They are next door to each other, so it will not cost you much, but the festival has not tidied it up.

Ticketed events worth booking now

Date Event Price
Fri 18 Sep Medieval Feast, Barley Hall, 7pm £80
Fri 18 Sep Taste of Rioja, Tabanco by Ambiente, Walmgate, 6.30pm £65
Sat 19 Sep Chocolate truffle masterclass, York Cocoa Works, 9.30am £65, £40 children
Sat 19, Sat 26 Sep Insider’s Guide walking tour, from Parliament Street £25
Mon 21 to Fri 25 Sep The Making of Drinking Chocolate, York Cocoa Works, 3.30pm £8.50
Mon 21 Sep NOT Chocolate Tasting, York Cocoa Works, 6.30pm £15
Wed 23 and Fri 25 Sep Holgate Windmill open day and milling, 10am to 12.30pm £5, under-16s free, no booking
Fri 25 Sep Gascony four-course menu, Chopping Block, Walmgate £45
Fri 25 Sep Pork Pie Competition, Bedern Hall, 6pm £19
Fri 25 Sep Botanically Brontë, Friargate Theatre, 6.15pm or 8.30pm £39.99
Fri 25 Sep Mead Cocktails and Sagas, Barley Hall, 7pm, over-18s £30
Sat 26 Sep Assize of Ale pub crawl, from the Mansion House, 2pm Free, book by email
Sat 26 Sep Assize of Ale fish and chip dinner, St Sampson’s Centre, 5pm £20
Sat 26 Sep Great Yorkshire Tasting, St Sampson’s Centre, 6.30pm £15, available on the door
Sat 26 Sep Cheese and Whisky Tasting, Belfrey Hall, Stonegate, 7.30pm £42.15
Sun 27 Sep The Restaurant Tour, self-guided £89

The Barley Hall medieval feast sold out quickly last year, on the organiser’s own warning, and Barley Hall is a limited access venue.

Still to be confirmed

Four gaps in the published programme as of 4 September:

  • The cocktail demonstrations by Impossible, on 18 and 25 September at 3pm, say “More info and prices to follow”.
  • Make with Yahala Mataam on 23 September is marked “Timings TBC”, and the Syrian dinner on 24 September has no menu and a provisional time, on a suggested donation.
  • The Taste Trail participant lists are not final.
  • The 50+ Friendship Lunch at the Chopping Block is listed on 24 September but its own text calls that a Wednesday, then lists three “Wednesday” dates, 24 September, 8 October and 15 October, all three of which are Thursdays. Booking is by phone on 01904 629222, quoting “50+ Festival”, so it is worth confirming the day when you ring.

Practical bits

The public toilets are on Silver Street, just off St Sampson’s Square, and cost 40p; there are portable toilets at both bar areas. Well-behaved dogs are welcome. Coaches are not allowed inside the city walls.

There is no festival parking. Our parking page has the council car parks and what they cost, and the roadworks and travel page is the one to check if you are driving in on a festival weekend. If you are staying on for the rest of the autumn, the things to do page covers what else is open.