Taste of London - Day One

 

Michel Roux Jr signs books at Le Gavroche stand (top) while
dancers entertain the crowds at Taste of Thai (bottom) 

I hold my hands up: until today, I was a Taste of London virgin. I had never before experienced the hustle and bustle of this celebration of world-class cuisine at Regents Park in London.

And I must admit: I was a fool for not attending sooner.

From the relaxed, sociable atmosphere to the world renowned chefs happily mixing with the visitors and not forgetting the unbelievable food, this is truly an event for every foodie out there.



Chicken tikka pie with spiced
wild berry compote (Benares)

And what a range of food there was! From the comforting stodge of light, creamy mash unusually but expertly combined with spicy chicken tikka and spiced wild berry compote offered by Benares (and trust me, the photo doesn't do justice to the depth of flavour and sheer joy of this dish) to the fresh, warm grilled octopus and chorizo salad of Bar Boulud, there really was something for every taste.

Poulpe roti: grilled octopus, carpaccio
& iberian chorizo salad (Bar Boulud)

Of course, there were the obligatory "wacky" dishes such as confit duck with popcorn by Club Gascon. Our consensus was that the duck was beautifully cooked but we just couldn't understand the use of the popcorn. What purpose did it serve, except to evidence the creativity and "blue sky thinking" of the chef? The dish was no less enjoyable for that, however, and the home-made ketchup that accompanied it was wonderfully spiced.

Mexican doughnuts (Asia de Cuba)

My stand-out dish of the day, however, was the dessert offering by Asia de Cuba: light and fluffy Mexican doughnuts made with sweet brioche, smothered in cinnamon sugar and plumped full with butterscotch sauce, accompanied by a mojito-flavoured sorbet that refreshed the palate.

All this without mentioning the free cocktails we enjoyed from Rocktails (deep passionfruit and pineapple fusion and elderflower and cucumber crush) and the awe-inspiring cooking demonstrations.

The people I met in the queue on the way in knowledgeably informed me that, from their experience over the last four years, Thursday and Sunday are the best days as everyone is fresh and enthusiastic at the start and there's lots of free giveaways on the last day as the exhibitors don't want to ship things back.

And guess what? I'm taking their advice. Taste of London - see you on Sunday!