TASTE OF LONDON

So I told you how I was going to Taste of London right? Well, that happened last week and it is safe to say it was amazing. A personal heaven of wine and food and pimms and more food. Taste of London returned to Regent's Park this year for its annual celebration of all things yummy. It was a perfect day for Taste; sunny skies and not a cloud in sight. Makeshift foam caps were even being handed out! So the currency of Taste are 'crowns' which equal a pound and (slightly annoyingly) can only be bought in packs of 5. 

I rocked up with my mum, our crown stock already burning a hole in my pocket and headed straight to Flesh and Buns for a portion of their roast pork belly with mustard miso and green apple in a steamed bun. It was amazing, a perfect delicate balance of the miso and pork and the bun was light as a feather. 

We wandered round for what seemed like ages, trying to get a 'flavour' of what's about, Taste of Thai exhibited some of the best Thai Restaurants in London at the moment, from Blue Elephant to Thai Tho. There was also a great 'Fruits of Thailand' section with carved watermelons and exotic fruits to experience. 

Lining the walkways of Taste were marquees of various companies and producers; I swear I got more free food and alcohol from the sample tents than I did from actual restaurants. We tried Cumbrian beer, sugared Indian flatbreads, Prosecco, Kimchi, Rose wine, lots of strawberry cheesecake truffles and a tonne of olives Bodega Olives, which we ended up buying 4 packs of!

Anyway, on to what I spent my crowns on. The best two dishes I sampled were from Salt Yard and Andre Garett at Cliveden House. I spent 5 crowns at the former on the famous deep fried goats cheese stuffed courgette flower drizzled with honey and at the latter we gorged on the prize winning peanut butter parfait with salted caramel and raspberry compote.

This stuffed me for the rest of the day and was possibly one of the best desserts I have ever eaten! Le Gavroche was surrounded by pappers trying to get a picture of Mr Roux himself- as was Maze and Jamie Oliver's Barbecoa, both popular choices for Tasters. Le Gavroche offered a luxurious sounding Lobster and Truffle Salad, Maze; the popular Bang Bang Chicken Hand Roll and Barbecoa- amazing sounding white chocolate Panna Cotta with Champagne strawberries and basil. Not only is there plenty of food to gorge on; there were sushi classes, a cooking tent and demonstrations from chefs such as Colin McGurran. I would happily come again to get involved with the classes! We finished the day off with a number of drinks; the best of which was a huge Pina Colada from the Mahiki tent served in a hollowed out pineapple. Nothing says summer better than a hollowed out pineapple after all.