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‘Taste of London: The Festive Edition’

'Taste of London: The Festive Edition'

This weekend sees the festive edition of the capital’s finest culinary celebration, Taste of London, return to Tobacco Dock. With so much to celebrate in London’s thriving restaurant scene, the festival has been specially curated to showcase all that the capital has to offer – the best chefs, the best restaurants and best gourmet producers.

Enjoy festive tipples and take part in hands-on masterclasses where you can learn how to create an impressive dish or shake up a cocktail or two ahead of the party season. Plus, there are more than 100 of the UK’s finest gourmet producers to sample and shop, making Taste of London the perfect way to kick off your festive shopping spree!

This year’s Taste of London will shine a light on the talented chefs leading the charge in bolstering London’s reputation as culinary capital of the world. Heroes of modern cuisine, including Ollie Dabbous (Henrietta), Jackson Boxer (Brunswick House), Lee Westcott (Typing Room), Sebby Holmes (Farang) and Sam Kamienko (Ellory) are all set to cook up a storm live on stage at the AEG Taste Theatre in association with Etihad Airways where they will wow the audience with what’s hot right now, and unveil the trends of tomorrow. The theatre will be hosted by food journalist and Instagram star Rosie Birkett.

Plus more exciting chefs will join the line-up at the Fire Pit, hosted by DJ BBQ, providing expert culinary tips to satisfy London’s obsession with cooking with fire and smoke.

Taste of London creates the rare opportunity for food lovers to curate their perfect taster menu as 22 of the capital’s most acclaimed restaurants appear over the 4-day duration of the festival. Expect mouth-watering dishes from a line-up that includes cult Taiwanese restaurant BAO and Mayfair’s Jamavar, whose upscale take on Indian street food has just won them a Michelin star. The unique combination of champagne and hot dogs will be on offer from Sandia Chang’s Bubbledogs. Sandia will also introduce her upcoming dining concept Chang’s Bar. There will be delicious Middle Eastern fare from Delamina – a new launch by the team behind Shoreditch’s Strut & Cluck, and event visitors will be able to soak up the Soho House vibe as they join the line-up for the first time, presenting a menu from, Soho House, Cecconi’s and Dean Street Townhouse. Plus, there’s refined French dining to enjoy from Les 110 de Taillevent and Nordic cuisine cooked on an open fire courtesy of Rök Smokehouse. Appearing for one day only as part of the Daily Special restaurant spot, Barrafina will be serving up Michelin-starred tapas on Friday 17th November, followed by Anglo-Indian small plates from the critically acclaimed Kricket on Saturday 18th November. Throw in the best dim sum in town courtesy of Dumplings’ Legend and inventive British fare from Salon and it will be the most decadent feast of the year.

Additionally, this year Belazu Ingredient Company have pulled together a barnstorming line-up of restaurants who will each be joining them for one day of the festival. On Thursday, expect to have your taste buds bedazzled by Flavour Bastard. Cooking up a feast of Moorish treats at the restaurant on Saturday will be Moro, and Blanchette will move into the kitchen on Friday, with Bistro Vadauvan closing the festival at the restaurant on Sunday.

For the very first time, Taste of London is proud to announce that the largest cheese competition on the planet, The World Cheese Awards 2017 will be taking place at this year’s event. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the awards will bring together more than 3,000 cheeses from around the globe, with 260 judges from 20 countries to crown the world’s best cheese. The Cheese Bar will be serving dishes featuring the award-winning cheeses and the World Cheese Deli will be selling its award-winning selections for Christmas.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to perfect their baking by taking part in AEG Get Baking sessions with Gluts & Gluttony founder Kathy Slack and former Great British Bake Off Finalist, Richard Burr.

Festivalgoers will have plenty of opportunity to enjoy an array of wines, cocktails and seasonal drinks. Boutique Islay gin, The Botanist will be unveiling a foraging table, where you can pick your own garnish to become urban gin cocktail foragers and concoct your own delicious gin cocktails. We’ll be taking part in their Sunday session – come and say hi! Also, blended malt Scotch whisky of the moment, Monkey Shoulder, will be shaking things up in their very own whisky wonderland serving experimental cocktails. Homegrown hopstars will be amply represented on the Craft Beer Trail, where a selection of the best beers and ciders from the UK will be perfectly paired with ingredients that enhance their unique flavour profiles.

The Champagne Laurent-Perrier Club House will be the perfect wintry haven to relax in during the festival and enjoy the exclusive house champagne of Taste of London, La Cuvée, alongside signature La Cuvée Rosé. Taste newcomers Le Creuset will be showcasing their beautiful new Taste of the City kitchenware collection through live cooking demonstrations where visitors can pick up tips and dining ideas to create a contemporary Christmas feast. On Friday, they’ll be joined by chef owner of Palatino, Rotorino, Dock Kitchen and Craft London, Stevie Parle, who’ll be demonstrating a selection of his favourite autumnal recipes.

Appearing at Tobacco Dock for the first time is the world’s most premium coffee roaster, illy. The Italian brand will be sampling its acclaimed coffee and single-origin roasts, enabling customers to taste the nine different Arabica coffees that make up illy’s classic red blend. Guests will be able to hone their own barista skills at a pop-up version of the brand’s world-famous University of Coffee, and enjoy coffee-based cocktails made by some of London’s finest bartenders. Visitors will also be able to write a note to illy’s dedicated coffee growers across the world, which will then be delivered to them to say #thanks4thecoffee.

For the shoppers, a quality range of more than 100 sought-after artisan food and drink producers including Burley Fudge, Urban Truffle, Meringue O Mania, Somerset Charcuterie, and Shawbury Vinters have been brought together for guests to stock up on treats and gifts, and get a head-start on their Christmas shopping.

The festive edition of Taste of London will take over Tobacco Dock in Wapping from 16th – 19th November 2017. We’ll see you there.

Tickets on sale now from £15: www.tasteoflondon.co.uk

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