Time flies when you’re having fun – and we must have been having fun this summer, because somehow it’s only one month to go until the second installation of Beef Stock, our celebration of all things bovine and BBQ.
After the smash success of last year, we decided to beef (pun intended) the event up: Beef Stock 2026 will be a full two days long, with more stages, speakers, live cooking demonstrations and competitions than you can shake a barbecue skewer at. Head over to BBQ HQ to witness cooking demonstrations that will transform everything you thought you knew about cooking over coal and flame, from the likes of local legends the Beefy Boys, Birmingham’s Andy Low n Slow and Bristol’s Genevieve Taylor, as well as husband and wife duo McBagley BBQ and YouTuber, TV personality and best-selling author DJ BBQ, to name but a few. Learn some new skills or simply sit back and admire these firepit masters in action. If you’re seized by BBQ fever, you can even try your hand at at the CompBBQUK live fire cooking competition: prizes include t-shirts and Wye Valley hampers, and one lucky winner will even be invited to compete in the Barbecue World Cup in Las Vegas.
If you’re looking for something to stimulate your braincells as well as your tastebuds, over on Farming Minds, we’ll have talks, debates and discussions from industry insiders to get you thinking about our relationship to food, agriculture and the world around us. Expect panels on agricultural diversification, the future of Young Farmers, the realities of working in the hospitality industry, the joys of foraging, and the symbiotic relationship between humans and woodland. There will be plenty of opportunities to get stuck in and ask questions, and we guarantee you’ll come away with a more holistic understanding of our relationship with our food: all in a weekend’s work!
It wouldn’t be a Nozstock event without a bit of a shindig, of course, so we’ll also have two dedicated music stages if you fancy letting your hair down and throwing some shapes. In The Stockyard, we’ll have everything from Irish folk and Klezmer from Razzomo, to funk and Afrobeat from Okapi, Delta blues from Big Joe Bone and ska-fusion from the Social Ignition – as well as an appearance from Clifton Chilli Club, a collective of people who have been spreading the word about the almighty dish of chilli for the last sixteen years. Down in the Dingly Dell, discover the soulful vocals of Polly Edwards, the folk tunes of Ben Johnson, original acoustic songs from LibertyTree, and the triumphant return of Stevie Yeomans after his 2025 Beef Stock debut. We’ll also have folk and pop originals and covers from Venus Fly Kings, original ballads from Jakey Boy Hughes, and semi-finalist of The Voice, Jake of Diamonds. If you’re after something harder, head over to the DJ Shed, for all manner of electronic genres to get you jumping, including drum ‘n’ bass from Dex and DJ Mayhem, jungle and footwork from TENZ, as well as a vinyl set from Throwback.
All this as well as a trader line-up which would put any street food market to shame, a kids’ area with enough crafts, face-paint and games from Spare Room Arts and Dazzles to keep your little ones entertained all day – and did we mention that kids under 12 go free? – we can’t think of a better way to spend a family weekend. If you don’t have a ticket yet, they’re selling fast: sack off the burnt backyard banger and come join the professionals at Beef Stock this summer.