London is getting a brand new festival – and it might be the strangest yet

A promotional image for the festival showing one of the festival's founders, Clarice Downes, enjoying a martini and pickle — (Image credit: The Big Brine via Instagram (jhvisuals__))

London has its fair share of cracking festivals – Cross the Tracks, All Points East, Liquid Dreams, if you’re after something a little more gastronomically explorative. The latest one on the lineup might just be the juiciest of all: The Pickle Festival.

On 12th-13th September, London is getting a brilliant and briny makeover as a festival entirely dedicated to pickles will officially be taking place. The weekend will be packed with live chef demonstrations, workshops, and flowing tunes all celebrating the humble perfection of the pickle.

The (brilliantly named) Big Brine is set to take over Hackney Bridge – unsurprisingly. Although, there would have been something very full circle about hosting it in The Gherkin, just saying…

The event will host artisanal kimchi makers, experimental fermenters, accompanied by some of the UK’s coolest chefs dishing up delights, all taking a pickle-y twist. Cue the vinegar and the gherkins. As the evening unwinds, there will be live DJ sets and drag queens performing into the night so you can dance your heart out just as the pickles would have wanted. Whether you’re a glorious gherkin lover, a cornichon convert, or devoted to dill pickles, there will be plenty to eat, learn, and experience.

an image of the poster for the festival posted on Instagram

The brains behind The Big Brine are Clarice Downes and Emma Winstanley, who are such big pickle fans that they set up and funded the festival themselves, hoping to share their passion for pickling with the public. The duo are hoping to showcase the craft, creativity, and culture behind the brined and fermented, uniting the foodies with the wellness world, sustainability, and hospitality.

The festival itself isn’t the first pickle-dedicated festival London has hosted either, with an autumnal offering from Deptford’s Dog & Bell.

Tickets for The Big Brine are £20 and are set to go on sale to the general public on April 28th, so set those alarms to get access to the ultimate pickle party.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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