Our first proper festival experience had started optimistically - we'd enjoyed creating a very small oasis of civilised camping (where we sipped wine from my plastic wine glasses and ate strawberries and Kathleen's delicious homemade caramel shortbread), in a field full of mentalist teenagers. However after a very trying night (our tent being moved, our tent being ransacked, our tent being trampled on all night whilst we were in it, our tent being rained on, our tent witnessing drug dealers having fights), things seemed bleak.
We were damp, weary and mildly depressed, as we walked through the drizzle trying to find a cup of tea. The previous evening we'd seen an impressive array of local food stalls, but sadly the majority were still shut. We walked to the far end of the field, following a tantalising aroma of buttery, bacony, syrupy goodness. Suddenly it seemed things were going to improve. Salvation had come to us in Crumpet form!
'Strumpets with Crumpets' is an enterprise devised by the three females who serve the crumpets from their boudoir-styled trailer, whilst in their 'strumpet' outfits. It wasn't the outfits that made crumpets sexy for me (corsets/basques surely can't make for good food preparation, can they?), but the locally-sourced, organic and fair trade ingredients, resulted in crumpets with joy-inducing combinations of toppings.
The menu ranges from the simple (butter), to the traditional (marmite, honey, jam, peanut butter, chocolate spread), and the sublime (frappe egg, pancetta and cheddar, or eggy crumpet, pancetta and maple syrup). We couldn't resist opting for the latter, and enjoyed cups of tea and Bob Marley whilst we waited.
It was well worth the wait. We each received a molten hot 'eggy' crumpet (perfect for filling the holes in the crumpet), topped with incredible fried pancetta and maple syrup! This was by far the best crumpet based food i'd ever eaten. These hot, square-shaped crumpets were a million miles away from the usual bland, dry, tough crumpets my toaster usually produced. It was heavenly - the ultimate breakfast, comfort-food. Nothing could have lifted my spirits more.
Overall:
Food quality: Absolutely wonderful. The crumpet was cooked perfectly, and the combination of salty pancetta and sweet maple syrup on a eggy base, was quite amazing.
Atmosphere: They had a number of tables and chairs outside the stall - It was all very relaxed, we sat there a while sipping tea, soothed by Bob Marley, whilst we slowly felt more human.
Service: Efficient and friendly. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, which I certainly wouldn't be if I had to prepare and serve crumpets whilst wearing a corset!
Value for money: £3.50 for our crumpet and tea was pretty great for a festival. The crumpets weren't large, but were very filling.
Overall: 9.5/10 - You must try this if you see the 'Strumpets' at a festival.
Rock on Strumpets (: I am big fan too!
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