Southbank Food Festival: Slow Food London

It seems that I have fortuitously stumbled upon a glut of food festivals here in London of late, and I'm not complaining. I'm welcoming any opportunity to eat well and see London at the same time, and it appears to me that the food culture here is as lively as I had imagined.

And what shall I say about the weather? Even though today, London is at its typically rainy best, the past few days and weekends have been gloriously warm and sunny. I was quite the cynic and had scoffed incredulously at the prediction of sunshine and warm weather in the last few days, although have since been eating my words. An Indian summer seems like the perfect primer before the cold snap hits.

Weather aside, the Southbank Food Festival was held a couple of weeks ago although it's taken me some time to actually get my act together to write up a post. What's new- procrastination, it's the underlying motif of the blog. So, the Southbank Food Festival was an understated 3-day celebration of the Slow Food London movement, that championed the principles of sustainable living and farming, and basically sought to enlighten and challenge people to think more about the food they were eating.

There were about 40 different stalls set up around the Southbank, by the Thames, and there was a tent dedicated to cooking demonstrations throughout the day teaching people stuff like how to feed your family for under a fiver (£5) and how we can all use sustainable products more. My most favourite demo of course was by the lady who owned Choc Star who showed us how to make a chocolate, almond and orange terrine. The best part of the demo was of course the end, where we all got to have a taste.

As fast food encroaches upon most of eating habits it was more than encouraging to know that there is a movement to counter the insidious thing that fast food is doing to the culture of eating, farming and mostly our health. That's why farmer's markets are so great, you can meet and actually get to know the people rearing the animals and growing the vegetables that you are eating, and you know the food isn't stuffed with nasty hormones and preservatives that will one day turn you into a mutant.

So here are a few snaps of day 2 of the Southbank Festival. My recollection of the actual stalls are getting a bit foggy but I'll try my best to give you at least, somewhat vague descriptions.

Different varieties of apples from Franklins Food Emporium in Kenington; can't resist a cupcake shot wherever I go, can I? Beautiful pot of flowers, mushroom medley frying in a large pan.


Middle eastern spices and sauces; almond semolina mini cakes, simply divine; cheese, cheese and more cheese!


Slow food stall; cross-section of salami; hard cheeses.


One of my favourite stalls, Choc Star, the home of the most decadent chocolate terrine made with Valrhona chocolate, the van travels around the United Kingdom sharing the joys of eating chocolate with people, look out for the van it could be coming to your town; some sourdough breads.


The tiniest cafe I've seen, a quarter of the London Eye; espresso drip; beautiful crusty bread.


Artists making their mark on the pavement; French cheeses along the Thames sunset; frying up some Churros.


Crates of organic Worcester apples; squash to brighten up your day; more crates of apples; organic sparkling apple juice.


Artwork around the Southbank.


Textures and patterns around the Southbank; Rabbit pasta.

Thames Festival, Spetember 2008

The Thames Festival held on the South Bank was on last weekend and was a bevy of market fare, food stalls and entertainment. And to top it all off the weather was incredibly genial and sunshine surprisingly forthcoming that day despite some clouds overhead. We warmed ourselves while having lunch on the Southwark Bridge looking out at the expanse of the river, St. Paul's Cathedral and the ubiquitous construction cranes that seem to dot the London skyline.

The real reason for making our way to the festival was the Feast on the Bridge. The whole of Southwark Bridge was closed to all traffic to make way for food stalls from different cuisines and cultures and two long dining tables that stretched almost the length of the bridge.

There's nothing like a pig and a pint to start off this feast; London skyline.


Stir crazy, this stall was very popular.


There's nothing like a cupcake tower to soften any sweet tooth like myself; a colourful spread of Caribbean food including a chick pea salad; strawberries and cream, an English classic.


One of my favourite stalls on the bridge, a middle eastern bazaar of goodies including burgul pockets filled with eggplant, baklava and pistachio birds nests.


An interesting find, deep soup ceremony at low tide; feasting on the longest dining table I've ever seen; beautifully russeted pears; burnt sugar- all things caramelised and sweet; what's a burger without some ketchup, squeeze on.


The smell of corn on the grill is mouth-watering; confections at Cocoa Loco; Richard Howard oysters, the same ones from Borough Markets; view from the fourth level balcony at the Tate Modern looking down on people learning to Salsa.


The imposing figure of Tate Modern against some patches of blue sky, live music and salsa dancing; St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge; the crowds along South Bank.


The markets by night, curry and jambalaya livens up the night air.

Hungry in London

Sounds like a title for a personal ad, but yes I am in fact hungry in this big old town. I've been in London for almost a month now and haven't a clue where to go for good food. I must admit that I have been trying to eat on the cheap lately, and cheap doesn't always equate to good. Wow, eating out in London can really eat into your budget. I had been warned before I left, although never really paid any mind to such sagacious counsel until it was my own pounds that had to be spent.

So, right now I have been straying from anything too pricey, but once the pocket gets filled with a few more pounds, I'm definitely not opposed to some fine-dining here and there.

So I'm putting out the call to any Londoners out there or anyone else in the know, for places I should wine and dine or do it on the cheap. Fancy eats, cheap eats, pub grub, be it your favourite places to go and secret finds please direct them all my way. I can't stay hungry (and poor) for much longer.

Also, I might have mentioned in previous posts but I have a bunch of dishes I made in Australia that have never made its way onto blog yet. So look out for those in the next few weeks. I don't have an internet connection at the moment, and am making use of free wi-fi in London, so posts are probably going to be more sporadic than before, until I am once again reunited with the world.