Was Yorkshire food festival ever ready to serve or only half-baked?

Billed as the UK’s “biggest ticketed weekend food festival”, the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival promised celebrity chefs, cookery classes, live music and luxury camping – but when it was abruptly cancelled with just two weeks’ notice excitement turned to dismay.

While undoubtedly disappointing, signs of trouble had been mounting for weeks the BBC has learned, casting doubt over whether the event was ready to serve or only ever half-baked.

“Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of my control, I will no longer be appearing at the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival,” Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston wrote on Facebook on 2 July.

Half an hour later co-star James Martin posted a near-identical message.

Later the same day chef Rosemary Shrager and disco performers Brutus Gold’s Love Train also announced their withdrawal from the three-day event scheduled to take place in Skipton, North Yorkshire, from 18 to 20 July.

Back in September 2024, an excited Rachel Manley and her family had paid £612 for camping and six adult VIP weekend tickets for the festival.

The Skipton mum-of-two and her daughters, Mollie, 27, and Evie, 25, had been counting down the days to the event, even picking out fancy dress outfits to dance the night way to their favourite act.

However, in the run up to the event, the venue shifted multiple times – from Funkirk Farm to Kilnsey Showground, then to Aireville Park.

The line-up also changed, with Hairy Biker Si King and French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli quietly disappearing from festival promotions.

And still, there was no information about camping.

When Rachel messaged organisers, questioning the location, she was told Skipton Academy’s playing fields would be used as a campsite.

The school has since told the BBC that no agreement to use the site had been in place.

Staffordshire-based festival organisers, Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd, did not comment when asked about it.

Just two days after Martin and Blackiston pulled out, and two weeks before the event was due to take place, Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd cancelled it “with a heavy heart”.

Managing director Jon Arrowsmith told ticket holders: “Despite our best efforts, the loss of our original site near Grassington placed immense pressure on timelines.

“Ultimately, we ran out of time to plan, promote, and deliver the festival to the standard it deserves and so we felt we had no choice but to cancel.

“The decision to cancel a festival is never taken lightly and we are devastated that it came to this.”

Rachel, who eventually got her money refunded, said for her daughters, who have learning disabilities, the event had been the closest they would get to having “a real festival experience”.

“So having to tell them that it was cancelled and we’re not going – they were gutted,” she said.

Last month, the BBC revealed that, aside from issues around a camping location, Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd had never been granted the necessary premise licence for the event.

Asked about this, the firm said while there had been “some issues” with the licence application, it maintained it was “made in good enough time for the festival if it had gone ahead”.

The firm said it had offered “a series of TENs (Temporary Events Notices)” as an alternative.

However, North Yorkshire Council said the applications for the relevant licences had not been submitted in time.

In addition, a safety report dated 18 June, seen by the BBC, stated the event was “not yet safe, lawful, or insurable”.

It said “significant gaps” existed in health and safety management, licensing compliance, crowd welfare, traffic control and consumer protection.

The document also mentioned “James Martin’s non-appearance” and the need to issue an immediate clarification to ticket holders.

North Yorkshire Council said the event was cancelled before discussions about the report could take place.

Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd, however, told the Yorkshire Post they “do not recognise” the concerns and claimed “robust” plans had been in place.

When asked by the BBC about the report, the company did not provide further information.

Rachael Filby, from North Lincolnshire, booked a luxury yurt and four weekend passes in October 2024 for £795.

“I was getting nervous, and other people were posting questions and not getting answers to their queries about camping locations and announcements,” she recalled.

On 22 May, she read a BBC article about Glastonbury campers being left out of pocket when a luxury yurt company went bust.

“This made me even more anxious, so I asked organisers if the company was the same one that they had booked,” she said.

“I got a reply saying no, that they were now supplying the yurts, and everything in them, themselves.”

Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd did not comment when asked about the yurt provision.

This year’s festival had been billed as the return of a much-loved event, having taken place for more than a decade before the 2024 show was also called off, when former operator B3 Events Ltd went into liquidation.

Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd, which also organises Lichfield Food Festival in Staffordshire, later acquired the festival’s assets and intellectual property.

The firm promised it would honour payments made by traders who had been due to appear in 2024 for the following year.

However, several stallholders like Helen Willoughby told the BBC the so-called “gesture of goodwill” came at a cost.

Helen, owner of Keighley drinks firm Bytchmix, said she had already paid between £300-£400 for the previous year and was then asked to pay £145 in “admin fees” for the 2025 event.

But when the event fell through again, Helen not only lost her money she also lost the potential income she said would have seen her through the year.

“Now I’m looking and thinking I’m not going to have the money to be able to book any events,” she said.

“So how am I going to be able to make any money going forward?”

None of the traders the BBC spoke to have been able to obtain a refund. The BBC has also been unable to confirm if any of the musical acts had received payment.

Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd said ticket holders continued “to be refunded through the banks’ chargeback process”, and the firm was “still working on a financial support package for traders and others affected by the cancellation”.

A spokesperson said it “deeply regretted” having had to cancel the event “at such short notice”, adding: “Organising a festival of this size in the current economic climate is incredibly challenging.

“Our intention was to reinvigorate the event after last year’s difficulties with Events by B3 going into liquidation; in the end we could not deliver our plans.

“We remain committed to doing everything we can to support the individuals and businesses affected.”

Barnsley trader Maggie Holdaway, who said she paid £1,284 in pitch fees, had just handed in her notice to pursue working for her food business full-time.

“I feel like I’ve been scammed,” she said.

“‘With a heavy heart’ – no because you have all of that money.”

Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd has cancelled four other events between 2021 and 2025, including the 2023 Stratford-upon-Avon Food Festival and the 2022 Ibiza Proms, Britpop Proms and Movie Proms.

Last month, Disco Classical at Bishton Hall and Gardens in Staffordshire, scheduled for 5 September, was also cancelled. It had been advertised as part of Bishton Hall Proms.

Limelight Orchestra, which was due to perform, said it could not “due to circumstances beyond our control, which relate to the arrangements made by the promoter, Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd”.

Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd, however, denied being the event’s promoter, saying it had “assisted the organiser in the creation of the event management plan, site plan and acted as council liaison”.

However, Limelight Orchestra’s CEO Paul Murphy said the Event Management Plan referred to Mr Arrowsmith as the festival director.

Mr Murphy said the orchestra had also been due to perform at the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival, with both cancellations now seriously impacting the financial viability of his business.

He said Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd owed him £26,000.

“As a result of the cancellation, I am left in severe debt,” he added.

Following the cancellation of the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival, Lichfield District Council rejected Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd’s application to hold the Lichfield Food Festival in August and said it would also reject any future applications from the company.

The firm said they were disappointed with the decision and would seek legal advice.

For families like Rachel’s the Yorkshire Dales festival was a chance to create lasting memories with her daughters.

For traders like Maggie and Helen it offered an opportunity to connect with customers, grow their businesses, and secure the income they relied on to get through the year.

As for the future of the event, uncertainty still hangs in the air, with no clear indication of whether it will return.