PLAY Serves Up a Feast of Food, Fire and Flavour at Wonderland
Food was firmly part of the entertainment at PLAY 2026, with live chef demonstrations, street food, open-fire cooking, brewing and global flavours adding an extra dimension to the creative festival at Wonderland in Sussex.
Held on 19 September, PLAY brought together food, music, performance, art and creativity, with chefs and food producers given a prominent place in the programme.
The foodie action began in The Courtyard, where visitors could eat and drink throughout the day. Horsebox Coffee Company kicked things off, followed by welcome cocktails from Damien O’Leary, The Pizza Bar, Old Tree Brewery and The Pretty Bricks.
From 3pm, the Chef Line-Up took over, offering a fantastic mix of global flavours.
Carniel Levy of House of Sauce fired up The Roti Bar, cooking and selling food directly to festival-goers. Alongside him were Chef Ross, Katie and Leon with their Open Flame Experience, Chef Gabe Kilbi serving South Indian dosas and Chef Sharon of Leaf & Ladle with Sweet Plant Treats.
Over at The Lake House, Chef Nick and Epico Events took guests on a Passport to Latin America, adding another international dimension to the food programme.
Food also made it onto the main talks programme. On the Teddy Talk Stage, Chef Ilona Tomza delivered a live Polish cooking demonstration, showcasing the food and culinary heritage of Poland to a wider creative audience.
Brewing had its moment too, with Thomas Daniel exploring Brewing from Biodiversity, while Old Tree Brewery formed part of the all-day Courtyard offer.
At the heart of PLAY was chef and co-founder Lara Norman, whose vision ensured that food wasn’t treated merely as catering for the festival, but as a creative discipline in its own right.
Lara Norman said:
“What made PLAY so special this year was the sheer variety of the food. We had Carniel cooking at The Roti Bar, open-fire cooking, South Indian dosas, plant-based treats and Latin American food, while Ilona took Polish cuisine onto the Teddy Talk Stage.”
“It put chefs exactly where they should be – right at the heart of the action. People could watch, smell, taste and buy the food while actually meeting the chefs who created it.”
With roti, dosas, pizza, open-fire cooking, Polish cuisine, Latin American flavours, plant-based food, artisan beer, coffee and cocktails all on the programme, PLAY showed just how naturally food sits alongside music, art and performance.
At Wonderland, food wasn’t simply there to feed the crowd, it was part of the show. A designated demo tent is planned for next year, so any chefs interested in participating should contact: events@euphoriabylaranorman.com
