On Saturday 6 December, Mill Road will host its annual Winter Fair, filled with music, art, and most importantly, food stalls. Although Mill Road is renowned year-round for a unique and high-quality food scene, the street is transformed on the first Saturday in December every year into a veritable wonderland of foodie delights and festive cheer.

You must go to the Winter Fair armed with two things – an open mind, and an empty stomach. You’ll find all sorts of food stalls dotted up and down the road, selling everything from rare specialist cheeses to spicy Thai street food, Chimney cake to large bottles of locally produced Sloe Gin and Cider. Part of the fun of the Fair lies in trying new taste combinations and different cuisines. You can even buy Camcattle burgers (yes, from the cows that are regularly seen grazing on Midsummer Common, so don’t get too attached) and you can’t get more local than that.

The Winter Fair is an excellent opportunity for local restaurants to show off their signature dishes, with many giving out free samples of exotic snacks such as fluffy and hot Cha Siu Bao (a steamed pork bun) and the sweet and moreish Gulab Jamun (a popular Indian dessert). While many will already know of these delights, the Fair allows the restauranteurs to reach a much wider potential customer-base. The Fair is also a great place to find interesting and unique foodie Christmas presents, such as hand-decorated gingerbread biscuits, and home-made relishes and jams. 

I have two outstanding memories from last year’s Winter Fair. One of these is the best mac and cheese I have ever eaten – rich and creamy with generous helpings of cheese, and served with mushroom duxelles and salty, crispy bacon. This warming treat came courtesy of well-known Jack’s Gelato, which created this hot alternative to their usual gelato –  an especially apt gesture in the cold December air. And equally, how could I forget the big cups of smooth, velvety hot chocolate, served in a variety of flavours – caramel, belgian chocolate and ‘winter spice’ to name but a few – and adorned with lashings of freshly whipped cream?

There are only two potential negatives about this wonderful fair. Some of the items can be a bit over-priced and, in the excitement of moving from stall to stall, sampling as you go, it is easy to spend quite a lot of money without realising it. The Fair also gets incredibly busy with the density of the crowds making it very difficult to move about and with the most popular stalls plagued by long queues. It’s best to get to the Fair early and wrap up warmly to stave off the chill of queuing outdoors. 

These minor issues aside, I can’t recommend the Winter Fair highly enough. With many students leaving Cambridge before the Christmas season proper kicks off, this is the perfect opportunity to experience a bit of festive magic in Cambridge before you leave for the vacation. Start your Christmas season with the Mill Road Winter Fair and it's almost guaranteed that that the crowds, that bittersweet bite of winter wind, the smell of sweet mulled wine, and brass bands playing Christmas carols will get you in the festive mood.