Pubs from across the country participate at the event each year, and 2025 was no different.
This year’s Pub in the Park in Marlow took place between Thursday 15 and Sunday 18 May. The Morning Advertiser (The MA) was in attendance on Friday 16 May.
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Top chefs including Tom Kerridge and Raymond Blanc made an appearance while music from Billy Ocean, Dizzie Rascal, Sophie Ellis Bexter, Will Young and Pixie Lott kept the crowd entertained.
Founded by Kerridge in 2017, the festival originally launched as a singular event in Marlow but now hosts weekends across the south of England annually, including in Reigate, St Albans and London.
Number one on the Top 50 Gastropubs List, the Unruly Pig in Suffolk, was also in attendance at this year’s Marlow event.
Owner Brendan Padfield told The MA it was an honour to be asked to participate: “It’s lovely for the team to be rubbing shoulders and sharing a platform with some of the best hospitality operators and teams in the UK. Team Unruly just loved the whole experience.”
Padfield added the Unruly Pig’s chef patron Dave Wall and head chef Karl Green curated the menu for Pub in the Park by choosing dishes that were full of flavour, accessible, festival friendly to produce and easy to eat on the move.
Festival friendly dishes
It included an Iberico pork schnitzel bap with a Calabrian chili honey slaw and gherkin mayo alongside an Nduja mac and cheese and a wild boar Bolognese.
Also cooking up a storm was local pub the Oarsman, run by Nigel Sutcliffe and the team.
The pub showcased its Yellowtail fish finger bun as well as BBQ glazed pork ribs and an asparagus taco.
Having participated in Pub in the Park since 2023, Sutcliffe told The MA the team learned what guests expect from the event the hard way: “Our first year we wanted to showcase Oarsman food showing everyone what we are all about - seasonal, sustainable etc. - but we were too gastronomic.
“We did venison faggots and a brawn fritter, and while the food was some of the best at the show, our sales were pretty poor, we were told we needed to cater for party people, but we didn’t want to compromise what we do.
“Lesson learned. This year we’ve looked at hand held options, messy, simple and tasty. We’ve estimated our sales as 1, 250 Fish Finger Buns, 1,000 BBQ Pork Ribs, 2,000 Crispy Potatoes and 300 Asparagus Tacos.”
In addition, while the event is great fun, keeping food fresh for the four day festival is not without its challenges, Sutcliffe continued: “You can’t do much in advance, you have to try and guess the volume of sales for the weekend top up your mis-en-place on Saturday night and sell out on Sunday afternoon.
Building relationships
“But it’s great fun for the team and they get to meet all the other pub teams. On the first night at the welcome drinks it reminds me of a scene in the film Warriors, everyone gathered in their ‘colours’, but by the end of it everyone’s great mates.”
Other operators at Pub in the Park Marlow included Heartwood Collection, which is getting ready to open nearby site the George and Dragon.
A spokesperson for Heartwood told The MA: “For the business, it was a hugely important event to take part in not just to promote our upcoming opening but also build relationships within the Marlow community.
“We are already talking about next year’s festival but, in the meantime, our experience at Pub in the Park this year has given us some valuable insight into what Marlow is looking for from The George & Dragon as a pub but it is also starting to shape our opening strategy.”
It wasn’t just about the food though, Pub in the Park beer sponsor Greene King said the event a great opportunity trail its beers.
The Suffolk-based pubco and operator had its Flint Eye Lager (4.5% ABV), Hazy Day IPA (4.3%), Estrella Galicia 0.0, Old Session Hen ale (3.4% ABV) and more.
Greene King marketing director for brewing and brands Will Hemmings told The MA: “We’ve been beer sponsors for Pub in the Park for the last eight years and it’s been brilliant to watch the festival evolve.
“Pub in the Park is a great opportunity to drive trial of our beers and show the variety of our portfolio, from our craft to cask beer, and there really is nothing better than enjoying a refreshing pint with great food, music and weather.”
