Festival food stall closed after dozens report falling ill
A food stall at Oxfordshire's Truck Festival was shut within 90 minutes after dozens of festivalgoers reported falling ill, organisers confirmed. Attendees linked the Yorky Roast vendor to severe symptoms, and Vale of White Horse District Council is probing a potential food poisoning outbreak with UKHSA.
Key Takeaways
- Truck Festival closed the Yorky Roast food stall on Sunday within 90 minutes of medical teams flagging similar symptoms.
- Organisers identified a third-party vendor, Event Mobile Catering Limited of Cardiff, as the suspected source.
- Vale of White Horse District Council is investigating with UKHSA, the festival, the business and the trader's local authority.
- Social posts described severe food poisoning; Oxford Mail reported one woman was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital A&E.
- A record 27,500 people attended the Steventon event headlined by The Maccabees, Two Door Cinema Club and The Wombats.
Oxfordshire's largest music festival confirmed it shut a food truck after people said they fell ill following meals from the Yorky Roast stall over the weekend.
Posts on social media documented dozens of complaints. One attendee said they left early feeling "so poorly." Another called it "the worst food poisoning of my life."
A third said Sunday was "a complete write off" after eating at the stall on Saturday, missing favourite bands. For more public-safety cases, see our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub.
What happened to festival food at Truck?
The four-day event at Hill Farm in Steventon drew a record crowd of 27,500. Indie acts The Maccabees, Two Door Cinema Club and The Wombats headlined.
According to the BBC, the vendor is operated by Event Mobile Catering Limited, based in Cardiff, which was contacted for comment on Wednesday.
Oxford Mail reported festivalgoers blaming a Yorkshire pudding stall known as Yorky, and said one woman was rushed to A&E at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital for urgent tests.
Why did organisers close the stall so fast?
A Truck Festival spokesperson said on-site medics first flagged "a number of attendees with similar symptoms" on Sunday morning.
Health and safety staff launched an immediate investigation and named a third-party food vendor as the suspected source. The stall was removed within 90 minutes of the first report.
Findings were reported the same day to the council's environmental health team. "We share the disappointment and frustration of those whose weekend was affected," the festival said.
Who is investigating the food poisoning claims?
The council said it is aware of a "potential food poisoning outbreak" at Truck. It is working with the food business, the festival, UKHSA and the trader's own local registering authority.
Local coverage also noted organisers are supporting the ongoing inquiry into the cause. Attempts to reach Yorky for comment were reported by the Oxford Mail.
Until investigators publish findings, the precise cause of the illness reports remains unconfirmed—even as the rapid stall closure underscores how seriously organisers treated the food safety alarm.