So, last Saturday, I decided that it would be perfectly sensible to meet Udita at Taste of London for a quick whizz around the food stalls before attending an interior design workshop at Heal's. WRONG. You really need the following optimum conditions to enjoy "the world's greatest restaurant festival":
- time
- waterproof shoes (apparently, as my Tory Burch espadrilles were absolutely ruined by the mud)
- patience (the lines were so long)
- a bottle of water (since the only beverages available seemed to be - in this order - gin, champagne, beer, and coffee)
But, still. We had a great time and sampled some delicious food. Had I not been rushing to my next destination, I would have happily stood in line for Golden Grahams soft serve at Duck & Waffle, the barbecued pork things that everyone else was chomping on at Roka, and other seemingly tasty things that looked good from a distance.
So, here were the highlights:
These incredible "sari cakes" from, well, Sari Cakes. I marvelled at the intricate designs and colorful, henna-like patterns.
Lamb meatballs and grilled octopus from Sea Containers. Perfectly scrumptious when washed down with shot-sized sample of Doom Bar. Also: jamon from Jose Pizarro. Perfectly scrumptious when washed down with shot-sized sample of Doom Bar.
I stopped to smell the roses at Bloomon - I can't resist a beautiful bouquet. It's become my Thursday/Friday ritual to buy fresh flowers to enjoy over the weekend. A weekly floral delivery service is a little too tempting to me ...
By the time we'd finished nibbling our "mains", we set off in search of dessert and instantly went all googly-eyed over the beautiful displays of pastries and cakes at Coup de Pates.
I brought home a lemon meringue tart for John, but by the time it had made its way through Regent's Park, sat through a workshop at Heal's, travelled on the sweaty Victoria line back to Walthamstow ... it had melted, to my disappointment. And he was too ill to eat it. So I ended up eating it over the sink. With a fork. In the box.
So glamorous.
Predictably, since I was with Udita (and the two of us seem to always find ourselves in bizarre/hilarious situations), some funny moments occurred, namely:
- the patissier who mistook our enthusiasm for the reunion of the cast of The Hills (a US reality TV show) as enthusiasm for the cake we were eating;
- the lady behind us in line who was trying to decide what to order when Udita piped up with, "The jamon Iberico is excellent!" ... only for her suggestion to be rebuked with, "I'm actually vegetarian."
- the lady serving samples of Doom Bar who seemed to always just miss Udita (or was purposely avoiding her) until I practically shouted, "HELLO! HI! OVER HERE!"
Next year? I'll be bringing wellies (unless we have a miraculously sunny and dry June) and my A-game to Taste of London. Did you go? What did you think? Let me know!
Our tickets to Taste of London were complimentary. All opinions are my own.
