Anna Mae’s Mac and Cheese Glastonbury Tips Interview. Today I interviewed one of the owners of one of my favourite food stalls at Glastonbury Festival.
Anna Mae’s Mac N Cheese has saved me countless times over the years down at Worthy Farm. When you have had a few ciders and walked over 35,000 steps, you need carbs, lots and lots of carbs. Anna Mae’s provides it with abundance, and it is delicious. Find them at Glastonbury this year. You can thank me later.
You run a food stall at Glastonbury Festival. How did that come about?
We currently feel very lucky to have our spot at Glastonbury, but it was lots of twists and turns to end up trading there:
Both Anna and I quit our jobs in different industries in 2010 to travel around the States collecting recipes, and then came home and started a food truck doing all kinds of American-influenced food at little farmers’ markets around London. But slowly we evolved to specialise in mac n cheese and then ended up doing more and more music festivals.
Obviously, since Glastonbury is the pinnacle of festivals in the UK, after working for a few years at several festivals to learn exactly what we were doing first, we finally applied to trade there.
We have to reapply every year, so we always try and keep things fresh and interesting with new signage or tweaks to our menu. We try hard to stay distinct and uniquely ourselves.
Had you been to Glastonbury before running a stall there?
We went in 2008 and camped just by The Park. Our main memory is watching Amy Winehouse on the Pyramid stage when it had been raining all weekend, but as she was in the middle of her set, the sun came out, and it was just magical.
It was a crazy, muddy one in general, though, so we would have been very surprised to have learned we’d be back working there a few years later!
What are the pros and cons of running a stall at Glastonbury?
Pros:
- There is a huge community of festival traders, workers, stewards and bin painters who all descend on Glastonbury, so the feeling of being part of something so much bigger feels really meaningful
- . Seeing behind the scenes during the build and everything that goes into putting the show on the road is pretty amazing, too. We have traded there for a few years, seeing happy festival goers who wait all year for their mac n cheese fix with us is really rewarding.
Cons:
- We have to approach everything like a military operation, as there are so many moving parts to setting up a kitchen in a field in Somerset in the British Summer and making sure all the food we serve is 100%. You never know what’s going to happen next, and it’s a real test of endurance from setting up on Day 1 right the way through to 8 days later when our last portion has been served and we’ve cleaned and packed up.
Any stresses are definitely outweighed by all the positives of having the privilege to work there. We always drive away buzzing with exhaustion and feeling super privileged to have had that experience.
Do you have any tips for people attending Glastonbury for the first time?
Don’t plan anything too much. A lot of the magic of Glastonbury seems to happen when you least expect it or aren’t looking for it. Oh, and make sure to fuel up on some carbs 🙂
What makes Glastonbury so special?
Even though it’s so big, there’s such an amazing community, plus witnessing such an awesome feat from the Glastonbury crew to make it all happen.
Where are you based at Glastonbury?
We have one stall right between the bandstand (which is on the map) and Cider Bus nearish the exit of the Pyramid Stage, and the other is on the row of traders on the way to Woodsies up the hill from San Remo.
Thank you so much, Tony. See you on the farm!
The Glastonbury Festival Guidebook Is Now Available
Hey there, Glasto Newbie!
So, you’ve scored tickets to Glastonbury? Congrats! Now, let’s make sure your first time is more epic than a Pyramid Stage headliner. My Glastonbury Festival Guidebook is like your cool best friend who’s been there, done that, and is ready to guide you through the festival’s wonders.
Download it below or get the print version on Amazon here: The Glastonbury Festival Guidebook
PDF Version:
