Some folks take their love of food to a whole new level. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the weird and wonderful world of food festivals.

What better prospect can there possibly be than to travel somewhere picturesque for the weekend to consume copious amounts of crayfish, cherries or witblits? Or, in some parts of the world, to nibble on venison testicles, explore radish-inspired creations or taste every type of liquorice known to man?

Should you find yourself in Whistler, Canada in August, you can enjoy a day of cheese-based fun, including the age-old English custom of rolling a 5kg wheel of cheese down a hill. The Canadians, of course, take it one step further with uphill rolling and obstacle courses.

If you fancy something a bit meatier, head down to the US cowboy state, Montana, for the Testy Festy. This is where (they say) you must try the Rocky Mountain Oyster – otherwise known as a bull’s testicle.

Further south, in Florida, you can sample the famous peanut pie at the Central Florida Peanut Festival or see how people get creative with that little citrus fruit at the Kumquat Festival in Dade City. Over the pond you can pay a visit to the British town of Wakefield for their annual Rhubarb Festival, where you can stock up on marmalade and scrumptious pies made from this pretty pink vegetable. And if you like pasta, you’ll love the Sagra dei Gnocco, a festival that sees the Italians feast upon potato gnocchi made from over 1400 potatoes.

The humble artichoke is celebrated at the Fiesta de la Alcachofa in the Spanish town of Benicarlo, where huge quantities of artichokes are traditionally cooked on a bed of hot coals. Spain is, of course, also famous for La Tomatina, the mother of all tomato fights. This event, which draws thousands of people every year, usually kicks off with the palo jabón, where a few sods have to climb a greasy pole with a ham on top while the crowd cheers them on and showers them with water. As soon as the ham falls, that’s the signal for the food fight to start. Around 150 000kg tomatoes are used in this one-hour battle. The result? Rivers of tomato juice that flow freely, and some pretty disturbing photos.

Finally, trust the Kiwis to take extreme eating to a new level at the Hokitika Wild Food Festival. Sheep’s brains, earthworms and wasp larvae ice cream are as common here as boerie rolls and koeksisters are in Stellenbosch. On local soil, we are definitely one step ahead with our themed food festivals. This year, you can still visit the Hantam Vleisfees in Calvinia, the Ballito Prawn Festival, the Somerset East Biltong Festival, the McGregor Apricot Festival, the Knysna Oyster Festival and the Ficksburg Cherry Festival. Next year, there is always the Chilli Festival in PE and the Prince Albert Olive Festival.

South Africa is blessed with excellent local produce and passionate producers, so always keep an eye out for happenings in our events section.

By Johannie van As

Photographs: The 2011 Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival.