The People’s Taste of London

Where else will you find over forty of London’s top restaurants with a total of eleven Michelin stars, Thai classical dancing, live Greek music, free demonstrations from some of the UK’s leading chefs and the chance to taste a range of champagnes for just £5 a glass?

Taste of London takes place each year in Regent’s Park.  It’s a lively event, if a little subject to the vaguaries of the English Weather.  Once there you will need to buy ‘crowns’ (the currency used by the restaurant stands) if you want to try the restaurant dishes.  If you prefer, there are plenty of free samples of food and a few of drinks on offer but it’s a shame not to try at least one or two of the dishes.

The show is made up of three sections.  Demonstration areas run a scheduled range of events, from barbeques to Asian cookery.  For the most part free these often need to be booked.  Standholders showcase the best suppliers in the country – from tomatoes to cheeses to cakes.  There are plenty of international stands, some in specific areas, like the Greek stands this year with entertainment laid on for free.  Finally, the restaurant stands have makeshift kitchens attached and offer a range of dishes for ‘crowns’.  Whilst the experience is nothing like visiting the restaurants themselves, you will often find the owners and executive chefs there in person explaining the nuances of the dishes they are offering and willing to chat about their plans for the restaurant.

It’s fun and foodie and not to be missed.  Roll on Taste of London 2013

I had a great time at Taste of London, trying an amazing array of dishes on show by many of London’s best restaurants. Luckily for me, I was with my mum who knows loads of the chefs so we got treated to a lot of food and I was introduced to the big names!

First, we went to L’Anima, Francesco Mazzei’s restaurant. I really enjoyed the burrata with smoked aubergine and red onion jam. The combination of the fresh cheese and aubergine had a wonderfully clean flavour, which reminded me of sushi. I liked how the sharper taste of the jam cut through this, and the hazelnuts added a nice crunch.

Of course, Francesco’s ‘icon’ dish was fantastic – rich wild mushrooms and truffles created a deeply earthy flavour, and were beautiful combined with the delicate fettuccine pasta. Alexis Gauthier’s truffle risotto was another intense and rich indulgence!

Probably my favourite dish were these mango and unagi maki from Sake No Hana. They were beautiful maki rolls of eel, which were topped with wonderfully sweet mago slices. Served on a bamboo boat, they not only looked great, but tasted superb too!”