Renowned chef Tom Kerridge has revealed his love of St Albans and told the Herts Ad that it's the perfect venue for his Pub in the Park festival.
The Great British Menu and Masterchef star sat down with us ahead of the food and music festival's return to Verulamium Park from September 6 to 8.
The festival for foodies has visited St Albans every year since its expansion in 2019, with Tom explaining why they keep coming back to the city.
He said: "St Albans has always had this really good party vibe and amazing support for all the food and music.
"The Park is perfect for it, everything fits perfectly together and we've always been made to feel so welcome here, so it's lovely to be coming back."
The three days in St Albans has become a traditional closer to the festival's summer roadshow, which this year will be preceded by stops in Marlow, Chiswick and Reigate.
The Michelin star winner says that it always feel special bringing the curtain down on the years events in St Albans - noting that they've always had good luck with the weather on previous visits to Verulamium Park.
Tom describes Pub in the Park as "the biggest beer garden in the world" and says that the original vision was "to invite a load of my chef mates from up and down the country and combine that with some great music artists and restaurants".
After the success of 2018's outing in Marlow, he says that St Albans was "top of the list" when looking to expand the festival to similar areas.
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On the weekend itself, he says: "It's a family friendly festival environment with a food focus.
"There's so many Michelin star outlets that will be doing street food versions of their great menus."
This year he's particularly looking forward to 'Pod in The Park' which will see Sunday Brunch co-host Simon Rimmer grill chefs about their love of good food.
He points to the big names in a relatively small setting as one of the festival's biggest selling points, noting that this year's music line-up boasts the likes of Olly Murs and Paloma Faith.
So, why should people come?
Tom says: "There's so much to see and do, it's family friendly across the board. It can be a really good introduction to festivals for children while also being full of food and booze for the adults."
Tickets start from £45 for adults and can be purchased at https://www.pubintheparkuk.com/st-albans/ticket-info.
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