Taste Of London – A Foodie Wonderland!

I can’t help it, I have been excited about today for 364 days and finally it has come round again!

Taste of London surpassed my expectation again, celebrating a decade of showcasing some of the best food and beverages in the world made by the best in the world.

What a day, what a turn out, what great weather. We had a ball. A slick, cosmopolitan, celebratory atmosphere from every direction. Simply a great excuse to get together with family and friends, old and new. Our youngest recruit was 3 1/2month old Edward, who enjoyed the buzz of the throng of people passing by. I wish my 3 tots slept as well as him then our social lives would be transformed and restored!

Without wanting to appear like a Bisto kid, I followed my nose and couldn’t help but march straight towards Le Gavroche. Why wouldn’t you? Not saying there were elbows at dawn but I was a girl on a mission to make this my first port of call.

 There stood the Chef Patron. Wow, do I shake his hand, curtsy or in my typical fashion, just say something crackers before I think! Of course, it was the latter. Cringe….I asked the king of fine dining whether he had enjoyed the football last night?! (My saving grace was that France had whooped Switzerland in one of the World Cup knock out rounds)! Relief. I just wanted to chat, but he was a busy guy, so I made a swift departure but not before buying one of his books and him signing it.

I have made a point of having a photo taken with Michel Roux at each festival as he is my divine cooking inspiration. He never looks any older either, however I do, but that’s ok, I will photoshop out the bags from under my eyes! Sshh!!

My curiosity and downright fascination for Le Gavroche led me to choose his Icon Dish, the Salad de hoard aux truffles: Lobster and truffle salad which arrived in a pretty glass engraved with a picture of Le Gavroche, (The Urchin). It was absolutely amazing.

I felt like the cat who’d got the cream, parading back to my table of friends. They were a teeny weeny bit jealous to say the least! Nice trick Le Gavroche recycling my glass for a beautiful one to take home and treasure. It’s the little things….

Fast forward and my goodness where do you start. This place is a food and beverage lovers paradise. Downright indulgent, fascinating, inspiring, bring your wallet but let’s do it! You can’t help yourself!

We explored every avenue of culinary delights and you know what, it works. Rain or shine, people can’t keep away. The opportunity to indulge in many different dishes from all corners of the world, made by some of the best and up-and-coming chefs in the world, in just one day makes this an attractive day out. Not to mention the wine and Champagne tasting and the myriad of drinks from the four corners of the world.

Next on my wish list of stands I wanted to visit was, Theo Randall at the InterContinental. The party atmosphere here was both entertaining and boisterous and I am merely talking about the chefs! I never expected a selfie with Theo Randall himself either. Not something I have ever done even with friends but hey, my friend had disappeared so ‘carpe diem’ as they say and there is a first for everything!

Moving on from there, it was great to see stands such as Heck Sausages. Purveyors of delicious sausages and as they say “We do damn good sausages” and this I know is true. Adored by my little boy not least because they are all gluten-free and perfect for his coeliac diet.

The time runs away with you especially when you must be back on the 5.03pm train to Leeds to restore normality in the home and the husband has been looking after the 3 tots all day. Thankfully no trips to A&E were required but the house did look like we had been burgled! Fortunately I was still daydreaming about the day to notice too much.

And so, for another year that is that unless I venture to Taste of London Winter 2014. I really believe it is the best culinary day out in the year, in the world bar none.