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Sister Sledge, The Shires and chef Matt Tebbutt close weekend of Pub in the Park, Tunbridge Wells

By: Cara Simmonds csimmonds@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 13:48, 10 July 2023

Updated: 14:22, 10 July 2023

It may have been called the “Lazy Sunday” session, but when you’ve booked the legendary Sister Sledge to perform, everyone is guaranteed to get their groove on.

Safe to say the final day of Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park in Tunbridge Wells went out with a soulful bang.

Despite being slightly overcast with the occasional drizzle, I made sure to make the most of the food, booze and music on offer.

After trying a few free samples whilst walking around Dunorlan Park, I started with a fresh paloma cocktail (£10) at The Little Langton, a flower-encased horsebox bar.

There were also six pubs and restaurants to choose a selection of grub, all charging a standard £7 a meal.

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First I went for The Spuds You Like from Birchwood – crispy potatoes with rosemary salt, chives and sriracha mayo.

I never understand just how they do it, but these bad boys were the crunchiest roasties I had ever tried.

It was the final day of Pub in the Park, Tunbridge Wells

The sauce gave them a slight spicy kick too.

It was followed up with Mrs T’s Crispy Chicken Slider with ranch slaw and spicy sauce, from The Kentish Hare pub.

To finish it all off (as there’s always room for dessert) we got some large churros from The Churros Amigos.

It was £7.50 for nine, with heaps of warm, oozy, chocolate sauce – you just can’t go wrong with that. Yum!

At 2.30pm there was supposed to be a Cocktails and Doughnuts demo from the Longboys, however they sadly couldn’t make it.

A paloma cocktail from The Little Langton

Host Andy Clarke stepped in, showing how to make some of his own favourite drinks instead.

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As much as it was unplanned, he made sure to make everyone laugh.

During the 20-minute session Andy created four or five cocktails, combining elderflower and champagne as well as adding chilli to a pineapple and tequila mix.

Mooching in-between acts and demos we also watched a knife-cutting demonstration, tried some interesting CBD gummies and bought a delicious bottle of caramel rum from Beckford's Rum.

At 4.15pm chef and TV presenter Matt Tebbutt took to the stage, bringing his laid-back approach to cooking.

Crispy potatoes with rosemary salt, chives and sriracha mayo from Birchwood
Crispy chicken slider with ranch slaw and spicy sauce from The Kentish Hare

The 49-year-old is best known for being a part of Channel 4's Food Unwrapped and BBC's Saturday Kitchen – two shows we watch religiously in my household.

His demo was less about cooking but more of a Q&A with the audience, which felt relaxed and enjoyable.

We found out tarte tatin is his most-loved dish to make, what it was like working with chef Marco Pierre White and who was his favourite guest on Saturday Kitchen (Theo Randall if you were wondering).

He was also asked who the worst guest chef was, which Matt laughed and replied: “I can’t tell you that!”

And it is safe to say the music performances didn’t hold back.

Chef and TV presenter Matt Tebbutt had a Q&A session
There were lots of cooking demos taking place throughout the day

Tribute act Fleetwood Bac were on for 30 minutes, although I wished they had stayed for longer.

Starting with The Chain, they followed it up with the classics – Dreams, Little Lies, Go Your Own Way and Everywhere.

From afar they looked honestly like the real deal, with Stevie Nicks speaking to the crowd in her American drawl.

“We didn’t even have enough time to have an argument backstage,” Lindsey Buckingham cheekily chipped in.

The group really got everyone hyped up for country music duo The Shires, made up of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes.

Tribute band Fleetwood Bac took to the stage

They bought the sounds of Nashville to the park and performed tunes from their new album 10 Year Plan.

As soon as Sister Sledge came on stage at 6pm, there were cheers from the crowd as the sun reappeared to shine on their silver-sequined outfits.

They kicked off with an iconic groovy bass line before launching into Lost in Music.

It was then followed with hit after hit, including He's the Greatest Dancer, Thinking of You and All American Girls.

They also took a break from the classics and introduced a new song called Free, which was sung by Debbie Sledge, her daughter Camille, son David, nephew Thaddeus (son of Joni Sledge) and long term Sister Sledge vocalist Tanya Ti-et.

Sister Sledge were the headline act on Sunday

Their set went out with a bang, saving the best till last with We Are Family – making sure everyone was up clapping, cheering and boogying.

It was so wholesome to see people dancing with strangers, as Debbie said: “Can you feel that? That was love spreading all around the world.”

With a very full belly and heart now warmed, I went home smiling.

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