London Food Festival, TASTE.June 18th-22nd, 2014



Korea Foods tent



Korea Foods tasting tent

Organic wine from Italy



Galbi Bros



TASTE entrance
 









British pie shop




Scallops with lentil



Italian spicy cured pork salame Nduja










 

 



Korea foods tasting tent

 



Over the years I've visited London food festival here and there, I think London Taste in regent park is the best, have a chance to taste well known chefs creation and more professional.

This year I was very lucky to have tickets by Korea foods, my special thanks to Korea foods.

It was perfect day , on Sunday ,to stroll park for any reason, when we arrived, all  festival goers mingling between tents not too many people  but just right to enjoy to add party moods.
I could not miss 6 tents of  Korea Foods, I knew they are promoting in this event but did not realise such a big scale.
It was such a pleasure to see and I could not help feeling smug because I knew this is going to happen years ago.
I did bang on about my prediction and told a few food editors to take in their papers but sadly most of them did not, but a few food writers had tried but it did not happen, I am guessing the editor thought it differently.

But only one food journalist contact me about Kimchi and gave her free my kimchi lesson, and she wrote about my recipe  in her world pickle article.

Korea foods selling their product and invited Galbi Bros were selling Korean Burger.
Korean bulgogi sauce marinated mini burger with gochujang and mayo sauce seemed very popular.

Korean foods are big here in size wise, selling products, tasting  and celebrity chef talking and serving her Korean tasting menu., Even she was in Korea earlier , invited by Korean tourism and Korea foods to see Seoul and other attraction in the country's food scene. ( lucky her!)

Korean food is rising in London,  hope this huge momentum carries for a long time. Sure, under 35 years old Londoners are having love affair with Korean food for some time now, as I knew through my cookery.
How this love affair will be nurtured and eventually to the marriage? I certainly hope so.
Some of well known chefs are looking into Korean food now, to create new dishes, it is a good sign for the Korean food's publicity .

Looking around festival, famous restaurant,  ROKA ( fusion Japanese) grilling Lamb chop with gochujang ( Korean chilli paste) sauce.  this kind of free publicity is vital to keep Korean food interested to the public. Well known chef with  restaurant , cooking with Korean sauce even they are not Korean food, does not matter.

Looking around, still  big names pulling the crowd, like Jamie Oliver, M, Roux Jr. from ( Le Gavroche),, Club Gascon  Salt yard, Samba Susi, Italian restaurants had big queues, and tapas bar as well,

Jami Oliver's slow cooked smoked short rib was very good and tender meat fall off the bone, meaty piece of this cut we, Koreans love.

Still Italian well known restaurants has the longest queue, Londoners had not enough of Italian food yet it seemed.
My resent favourite Italian ingredient is Nduja, very spicy cured pork meat, so spicy , but so tasty.
It can be on the toast, in the pasta or in the meat stew, so versatile.
I can use for the Korean dishes if I can buy at the shop.

As always finding good small food producers are my aim.
Nice looking meat pie shop was caught my eyes in the small producer's tent. It was such a good pie.
Pork and stilton cheese, pork and chicken pie are exceptionally good.
Thin crust , not heavy , has very good flavour. I had to buy for my husband who is a Northerner, he certainly loves  and knows the meat pies.
As he, meat pie owner said, loving meat pie is in their ( Northerners) DNA!
It was nice to know this pie is available on line , also they sell excellent cheese and ham ( www.britishfinefoods.com)


Useful note;
Korea foods ( Korean supermarket):
New Malden, Surrey.
Tel: 020 8329 2900