Street food stalls revealed for Abbey event

Beer and Bread is a celebration of the abbey’s food heritage and the two things the medieval monks ate and drank.

The National Trust site has collaborated with Leeds Indie Food to create the event, which will take place on June 15-16 and 22-23 between 11 and 5pm.

Held beside Fountains Mill, the monastic home of beer and bread at Fountains Abbey, visitors will have the chance to try many types of beer and bread from street food, breweries and bakeries, as well as play family games in the orchard.

There’ll be a chance to learn about the history of the Mill, take a tour of the ruined monastic Brewhouse and Bakehouse, and have a go with dough at a family friendly bread demo.

Hayley Donaldson from Fountains Abbey said: “Fountains Mill was originally a huge monastic watermill and granary, and is one of the only surviving in Europe.

“In the abbey’s heyday, the monks brewed 60 barrels of ale every 10 days. At a time when tea and coffee were unheard of and water was insanitary, ale was consumed with all meals.

“Today, we eat bread and drink beer for pleasure, and Yorkshire is full of bakeries, breweries and street food producers making bread and beer of all kinds.”

The first stallholders have just been announced - Malton-based Bad Seed brewers, Los Antojitos pop-up tortilla makers, the Pizza Bus, Luigi Street Food and Doh Hut’s doughnuts.

Simon Fogal, founder of Leeds Indie Food said: “Fountains Abbey is just an amazing location, with a history to match. And with its long history in the process of making beer and bread, Fountains Mill was the most perfect host for this event.

“We’re revving up for an exciting weekend celebrating the best local beer and bread and street food, against the inspirational backdrop.”