Taste of London sweet with success

22-Jun-2008 - Last updated on 01-Dec-2010 at 09:51 GMT

This year’s Taste festival in the capital was a big hit with consumers and chefs alike

Regent’s Park was awash with celebrity chefs, restaurateurs and foodies alike at the weekend, as the fifth annual Taste festival made its way to London.

The festival was a chance for consumers to sample a taste of some of London’s top restaurants’ signature dishes, including creamed lobster and brandy soup from Le Gavroche; squid salad with coconut passion fruit dressing from Benares; seven-hour braised lamb shoulder and mash from Tom’s Kitchen; and lemon tart from Rhodes Twenty-Four.

Guests also were given the chance to meet their favourite chef in the new Waterstone’s book signing lounge, where authors such as Tana Ramsay and Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall gave Q&A sessions.

Returning to the limelight this year were the Taste Kitchen and Taste Theatre, where big names like Michel Roux Jr, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Michael Caines and Marcus Wareing, entertained crowds with cooking demonstrations and masterclasses. The Taste Wine event was also hugely popular, with hosts Peter Richards, Susy Atkins and Simon Woods showing wine-lovers how to select, understand and enjoy a variety of wines.

And amongst all the glitz and glamour of celebrity chef stardom were a host of food and drink exhibitors, most†of which offered passers by a sample of their wares. Newly imported Chinese lager from Harbin, 12 year-old rum from Appleton Estate, and almond and marmite biscuits from Fudges were among the gratefully received handouts, as well as some more obscure clay-coated potatoes from Vanilla.

BigHospitality spotted a few popular names lurking around the food stalls. Atul Kocchar was spied grabbing a bite from Japanese restaurant, Sumosan; extravagant sommelier Olly Smith stuck close to his compering duties at the Taste Theatre tent; an exhausted Aldo Zilli was spotted taking time out at his Zilli Fish stall; and a scatty Antony Worrall-Thompson did not disappoint at the Taste Theatre, with a constant barrage of insults aimed at an absent Gordon Ramsay.

For more culinary celebrations, the Restaurant Show heralds its 20th anniversary this year, and will run from 6-8 October at Earls Court.