Taste of London is definitely one of the world’s leading restaurant, food and drink festivals: one of the social events of the year for aspirant ‘foodies’ and socialites keen to combine a great day out with tasting and learning about food and drink.   If last year was anything to go by, it will be very good and well worth the visit, our catering managers in need of inspiration find this a boon, especially to see what can be achieved with the proper mis en place and a little ingenuity.

The four day event will serve up dishes from 40 of the London’s most acclaimed restaurants allowing us paupers the chance to sample quality cuisine from around the world. Joined by over 150 specialty food and drink producers from around the UK and numerous celebrity chefs, the event will prove the most exciting to date.  If you're anything like me, you spend most of your time saying “did you see…..”

James Durrant's (formerly Jason Atherton’s) Maze, Anna Hansen’s The Modern Pantry and Atul Kochhar’s Colony Bar and Grill are just three of the new restaurants taking part this year and I’m really looking forward to seeing how well they perform.  They will be joining Taste of London favorites Le Gavroche, Rhodes Twenty Four, Tom’s Kitchen and Bentley’s. Live cooking demonstrations at the Taste Theatre will show us a few rising stars I m looking forward to seeing in action such as Francesco Mazzei of L’Anima and Tristan Welch from Launceston Place.

Malaysian cuisine and culture will be on the menu this year with the fabulous ‘Taste of Malaysia’ dedicated to sharing the vibrant sights, sounds and spices of South East Asia. I’m really looking forward to this as having just come back from Cape Town my taste buds tingle at the thought of Malay foods.  The migrant Malay community in South Africa have created a unique fusion food called Cape Malay and has all the aromas and tastes of Malaysia but with the wonderful ingredients of South Africa.

Get your tickets early. As I recall the prices range from £22 for a standard ticket. If you'd like more info then pop on over to www.tastefestivals.com/london or if you're a bartlett mitchell client - give me a call and we can arrange a restaurant crawl!