Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Shows, launches and events / Taste of London Festive Edition 2015 – what I ate

Taste of London Festive Edition 2015 – what I ate

by Jeanne Horak on November 23, 2015 3 Comments in Shows, launches and events

TasteFestiveCrowns

Back in the summer I wrote about my experiences at Taste of London, the annual foodie jamboree that takes place in Hyde Park.  It’s a hub for like-minded people who are passionate about good food and drink, and a showcase of foodie excellence in every sphere from producers to chefs, restaurants, foodie travel, and retailers.  But as the nights draw in and temperatures drop, the halcyon days of summer and walking around Hyde Park in a pair of slingbacks sipping on Pimms, recede to a distant memory.  Never fear, though – one of the many offshoots that Taste has spawned is Taste of London Festive Edition, a wintry version of the main Taste of London festival that takes place in November.  This is where I headed last Friday night, and here’s what I did.

Taste Festive has previously been held in the ExcEL centre on the Royal Docks, but this year it was held at Tobacco Dock, an atmospheric venue roughly between St Katherine’s Dock and Canary Wharf. These old warehouses lend themselves well to this sort of event, with larger atmospheric spaces as well as smaller and more intimate ones. The principal sponsor, once again, was AEG and upon arrival Ailbhe, Krista, Rosana and I headed first for their live cooking area (stopping to pick up a restorative glass of bubbles along the way!).  In the live cooking demo kitchen there were multiple cooking stations, each equipped with a sleek AEG induction hob – the perfect hob if you want instant heat control at the touch of a fingertip. Jeremy Pang of the School of Wok was conducting sessions showing off how perfect these hobs are for stir-frying and so after a brief introduction to how induction hobs work, we were set to work making Singapore noodles.  Ailbhe took over wok-tossing duties (hader than it sounds!) while I worked my way around the “clock of wok” – the clever mise en place system where all your ingredients are arranged as if on a clock face and you simply work your way round them in a clockwise direction to follow the correct sequence. In no time at all we were tucking into a sizzling plate of noodles – thanks Jeremy! After a quick visit to the AEG Home Kitchen area where Kathy from Gluts & Gluttony private chef service was putting an AEG combination steam oven through its paces, making an AMAZING spiced pumpkin and sage cake with thyme and feta frosting (really!), we headed off to see what else the festival had to offer.

 

TasteLiveCooking

 

TasteCookalongIngredients

 

TasteFestiveJeanneAilbhe

Above image courtesy and © of AEG

TasteFestiveLiveCooking2

 

TasteFestiveJeremy

 

TasteFestiveCookalongKristaRosana

 

TasteFestiveNoodles

 

TasteFestiveVIP

 

One of the new features launched at Taste this Summer was the Daily Special stand, meant to showcase emerging culinary talent and occupied by a different new restaurant or chef each day.  On the day we visited I was dead keen to try restaurant-in-resident Joe Doe, particularly for their beer-butt pheasant with truffled mac ‘n cheese… but it was not to be: they had run out by early evening. Ah well. But just next door was one of my favourites: Korubuta, makers of pork belly buns of distinction! There was an impressive queue and a dramatic flaming robata grill but they were so organised that we only waited about five minutes to receive our Buns of Great Delight.  Scott Hallsworth takes his cue from the culture of izakaya Japanese drinking dens where the food served is packed with strident, umami-rich flavours and is messy and satisfying rather than beautifully presented and delicate – and that’s exactly how I’d describe the BBQ pork belly in steamed buns with spicy peanut soy.  They’re messy, pillowy, sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy all at once and they are so good.

 

TasteFestiveKurobutaCOunter

 

TasteFestiveKurobutaGrill

 

TasteFestiveKorubutaGrillhand

 

TasteFestiveKorubutaBun

 

From there, we wandered over to Tom Aikens who, as you may recall, won two Michelin stars aged only 26 but his eponymous restaurant went into administration in 2008. More recently, he has been focusing on his chain of casual restaurants, Tom’s Kitchen, but he is reportedly opening a new flagship restaurant in London in 2016. On the menu was a truffled mac ‘n cheese and a spicy crab cake with red pepper relish.  I tried the former and it was… nice, but nothing to write home about and rather lacking in truffle flavour for my palate.  But Ailbhe tried the spicy crab cake and it was glorious – properly spicy, packed with crabmeat, and beautifully paired with the homemade sweet, sticky red pepper relish.

 

TasteFestiveTomAiken

 

TasteFestiveTomAikensTruffleMacncheese

 

TasteFestiveTomAikensCrabcake

 

Moving not very far (next door in fact, if memory serves!) our next dishes were from M Restaurant, apparently the new place to go for steaks in London.  I’ve been rather intrigued by the menu including biltong, boerewors and, erm, kangaroo so I was keen to try their offering. I probably shoul dhave known better than to choose something quite so similar to the Kroubuta Bun of Delight, but I went for the sticky pork bao with pickles and kimchi, while Ailbhe went for the chicken karagee with English wasabi and chilli.  The bun, I am sad to say was a disappointment – the meat was tender but far from sticky and there was very little sign of kimchi other than a pink slick on the bun. But Ailbhe fared better with her chicken which was fantastically crispy, like the besty KFC you could ever imagine, with good flavour to the spicy, creamy sauce – definitely something I would order if I visited the restaurant!

 

TasteFestiveMMenu

 

TasteFestiveMPorkBun

 

TasteFestiveMChicken

 

From there I voted that we headed for dessert – and of course there was no discussion in my mind as to what to get: we made a beeline for Tredwells and a cup of their legendary salted caramel soft-serve ice-cream, given a little festive twist with a sprinkling of gingerbread crumbs rather than the usual honeycomb.  As ever, it was a scoop of heaven!  We wandered around a bit while eating this, sampling various drinks, including Prosecco; some smoky Bowmore whisky (an unbelievably good match with the salted caramel soft-serve BTW!); some Rubis chocolate wine (unconvinced!); and some V Gallery toffee fudge vodka (DANGEROUS! And gift ideas for me, obvs!).  When we finally made our way back out into the chilly night we were full of good food, good drink and festive spirit – definitely a fun way to spend an evening! Thanks to AEG and all the exhibitors for putting on yet another great show.

 

TasteFestiveTredwellsIcecream

 

TasteFestiveProsecco

 

NEED TO KNOW

Taste of London Festive takes place over 4 days in Tobacco Dock in November each year.  This year, Thursday’s session ran from 18h00-22h00; Friday’s daytime session from 11h00-16h00 and the evening session from 17h00-22h00; Saturday’s session 11h00-18h00; and Sunday’s from 11h00-17h00. 2015 prices per session were as follows: Standard tickets (£15 weekdays; £19 weekends) include entry to the festival only. Premium tickets (£32 weekdays; £36 weekends) include entry to the festival plus £20 worth of Crowns.  Champagne tickets (£40 weekdays; £45 weekends) include fast-track entry to the festival, a glass of Laurent-Perrier Champagne, a recipe book and £20 worth of Crowns. For full details, see the Taste of London website.

DISCLOSURE:  I attended this event as a guest of AEG but received no further remuneration to write this post.  I was not expected to write a positive review – all views are my own and I retain full editorial control.

Let’s keep in touch!
You can also find me tweeting at @cooksisterblog, snapping away on Instagram, or pinning like a pro on Pinterest.  To keep up with my latest posts, you can subscribe to my free e-mail alerts, like Cooksister on Facebook, or follow me on Bloglovin.

 

More deliciousness for you!

  • Braised baby turnips and radishes – and a workshop!Braised baby turnips and radishes – and a workshop!
  • Oat and cherry muffinsOat and cherry muffins
  • Cool, crispy carrot and coriander saladCool, crispy carrot and coriander salad
  • The Fat Duck – a 3 Michelin star lunch in BrayThe Fat Duck – a 3 Michelin star lunch in Bray

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« The Gate, Islington
The Great British Chefs NSPCC dinner »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Camilla says

    November 24, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    How could you do this to me Jeanne? My sandwich just won’t cut the mustard after seeing all this awesome food, you had me at the pork and kimchi onwards:-)

    Reply
  2. Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says

    November 25, 2015 at 8:17 am

    OH my gosh – you ate pork belly buns. That is my idea of heaven Jeanne. Seems like Korubuta is a place I have to take my OH to check out.

    Reply
  3. [email protected] says

    November 25, 2015 at 8:07 pm

    I must try and procure tickets for next year. I would have been swooning from the get-go. Fab review, as are all of your reviews quite frankly. What was your favourite dish, Jeanne?

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Roosterkoek - a South African braai essential
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
My big, fat South African potato bake

Featured on

Also available on

The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a 7 metre diameter scale model of the moon suspended in the Painted Hall at the  @oldroyalnavalcollege in Greenwich this week, by @lukejerramartist. A surreal and fabulous sight!
Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT