Last weekend, the pair of us made our way to Tobacco Dock in Greenwich for the Taste of London Winter festival.
We’d visited the summer festival in Regent’s Park earlier this year and had had such a brilliant time we knew we’d be making it a regular thing! Getting to try dishes from some of London’s hottest restaurants all in one day? Casually bumping into celebrity chefs like Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux? Yes, twice a year please. This time we’d managed to convince some of our friends and family to come down too, though to be honest it didn’t take much convincing!
We arrived at Tobacco Dock bright and early, ready to eat everything in sight and immediately we were blown away with the venue – 2 floors of exposed brick vaults, open air walkways, a pirate ship (I kid you not!), and an abundance of Christmas trees and pretty lights… you couldn’t help but feel festive!
We started the day by having a look around the numerous exhibition stands… somehow starting with the room full of alcohol producers. Start as you mean to go on I guess.
Strawberry Gin from Fresha.
Apple butter?! Made with apples, dates and pears… no added sugar, dairy/gluten/nut free. Nom.
White truffles.
Black Garlic from Balsajo – slow cooked for 4 weeks. Tasted like balsamic vinegar. Naturally we bought some.
Malaysian coconut & pandan spread! Seriously gutted they’d run out! 😦
After grazing on all the free samples from the exhibitors we realised we should probably try some of the dishes provided by the restaurants. Our first stop, Emberyard.
At the summer festival we’d tried the Iberico Pork Rib from their sister restaurant, Saltyard, and we enjoyed it so much we had to have it again! Oh, and try their Truffled Mac and Cheese.
Truffled Mac and Cheese.
Iberico Pork Rib with Quince Glaze and Squash Puree.
BBQ Pork Belly in Steamed Buns with Peanut Soy from Kurobuta. We could have had a large plate full of these bad boys! So tasty!
Hot spiced ciders HAD to happen.
The Ultimate Burger from Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa. Dat secret sauce doe.
Then for our last savoury dish we tried the icon dish from The Truscot Arms – Partridge in a Peartree (pine-roasted partridge breast, poached pears, chestnuts, smoked mash and partridge jus). This was just Christmas on a plate. Absolutely stunning!
And finally, for dessert we headed to Andina. Peruvian Picarones – pumpkin doughnuts with purple maize honey. There were not nearly enough of these. Pumpkin should just be in everything.
Full of food, cider and festive cheer… we then headed off to Southbank Christmas Market for more food, cider and festive cheer.
Like I said, start as you mean to go on.
acornsandcustard.com 