Family Fun at Gateshead Food Festival

What happens when you bring Creative Kitchen, a food festival and a whole crowd of curious little chefs together?

A seriously tasty day! 

We were so excited to be part of Gateshead Food Festival 2026 as part of Gateshead Summer of Fun, bringing our hands-on children's cooking workshops to families in Gateshead.

Taking place across Gateshead town centre and the Railway Quarter, the festival was packed with food, entertainment and activities, from street food and food producers to cooking demonstrations, live music, workshops and a community cook-off.

And right in the middle of it all, we had our Creative Kitchen tables ready for some serious cooking!

Cooking up a storm

Thanks to funding from Gateshead Council, we were able to offer free children's cooking workshops alongside the festival.

Our pizza-making and dirt-cup workshops ran side by side, giving children the chance to choose what they fancied making.

And clearly, choosing just one wasn't always easy!

We had lots of little chefs who came back for another go, swapping pizza for pudding

or heading back to make another creation. We absolutely loved seeing children so excited to get involved that they wanted to come back and cook again!

Our dirt cups were inspired by one of our favourite Julia Donaldson stories, with layers of chocolatey goodness and biscuit crumbs creating our very own edible pots of “dirt”.

They may have looked a little muddy…

…but they definitely tasted better than the real thing!

Meanwhile, our pizza chefs were busy creating their own individual pizzas, making topping choices and getting stuck into the hands-on process from start to finish.

That's what cooking together is all about 

For us, these sessions are about so much more than making something to eat.

They're about giving children the opportunity to make choices, try something new, develop practical skills and build confidence, while having fun with their families.

And that's what made the day so special.

We loved seeing families cooking side by side, children proudly showing off their creations and little chefs returning for another activity because they simply weren't ready to stop!

It was messy, busy, delicious and exactly the kind of family fun we love.

And the fun didn't stop there!

We were back in Gateshead Today (Sunday 9 August) as part of Gateshead Summer of Fun.

This time, we swapped cooking for decorating with dinosaur-themed cookie decorating! 

A huge thank you to Gateshead Council for funding our children's cooking workshops and helping us bring these free, creative food experiences to families.

And to everyone who joined us at Gateshead Food Festival, thank you for cooking

, creating, coming back for more and making it such a brilliant day!

We had an absolute blast!