A world apart from the cartons of soggy chips of festivals past, the dishes at the top of the bill this year come courtesy of the country’s best chefs.

Backtrack 10 years, and the food options at UK music festivals were basic. Budgets were spent on headline acts and – a far cry from today – the burger vans came brioche free and “dirty” really did mean dirty. A lot’s changed since then and, from dosas and dumplings to pulled pork and artisan pasties – not to mention the growth of a vibrant vegan scene – the food is often as central to a festival experience as the top-billed bands.

Having celebrated their 10th birthday last year, the team behind End Of The Road festival in Dorset has been influential in this rebirth, and it’s clear just how important high-end food is to them. “People expect more than a few burger vans and overcooked noodles,” says founder Mr Simon Taffe. “We try to curate our food as much as we do the music or any other aspects of the festival.”

And so it seems. Food trends have expanded our horizons, and although a survey last year showed that pizzas, burgers and chips are still go-tos for hungry punters, Mexican, Thai and vegetarian food all figured prominently too, with promoters eager to include on-point options as fresh as the dishes on sale. “We add new traders each year or talk to existing stalls about changing their menus. Some get complacent, tighten up on quantities or just get a bit tired, so we keep a close eye on it”, says Mr Taffe.

Quality food has become a point of differentiation in a competitive festival market, giving rise to new brands in the form of food trucks (look out for the Fabulous Fish Finger Company at various locations this summer), while there’s a huge appetite in festival fields for high-street favourites, including Voodoo Ray’s, The Breakfast Club and Pieminister. Plus, an ambitious new breed of food festivals that also put on live music has flipped the festival format on its head, keeping the old guard on their toes.

Raising the bar further is the concept of feasting. Not content with dishes served to the masses in polystyrene boxes, forward-thinking festivals – including Festival No.6, Port Eliot Festival and Wilderness Festival – have persuaded some of the UK’s top chefs to host decadent dinner events that translate their oeuvre to a tent, often bedecked with long, communal banqueting tables.

Wilderness was one of the first festivals to integrate feasting into its music, arts and wellbeing schedule, this year working alongside London fine-dining staples Moro, Petersham Nurseries and Hix. “Wilderness Festival fans are also Moro fans, so it’s a harmonious marriage,” says Moro co-founder Mr Sam Clark, whose London restaurant is cooking up its trademark Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours in the form of special events hosted in a huge Moorish tent, complete with rustic tables and benches. “It is gruelling work for six days, but worth it when we see how much pleasure we give the festivalgoers.”

Appearing alongside Moro is British chef Mr Mark Hix, who has been working with Wilderness for a few years and returns next month with grilled steak and lobster sharing feasts. “It’s important to keep it simple,” says Mr Hix, who sees feasting defined by “abundance and conviviality”. “Working out of a restaurant is always exciting, bringing up new challenges and invigorated energy.”

So what’s next? According to Mr Taffe, that’s the exciting part. “There seems to be a new trend every year,” he says. “I feel like we’ve gone through the hipster burger phase, the wood-fired pizza phase – it was cheese on toast last year. As for this year, I’m not sure… maybe bubble and squeak? Festival food is developing into its own genre and we hope we are a part of that.”