A call to chocolate lovers! The 2009 Chocolate Festival will be coming to London’s Southbank between Friday 3 to Sunday 5 April 2009 (11am to 8pm daily, 6pm Sunday). And it’s free to attend! There will be chocolate tastings (yum!), chocolate cakes, chocolate workshops, chocolate fountains, chocolate art, chocolate books, chocolates with wine, chocolate demonstrations, chocolate truffles, organic chocolates, chocolate milkshakes, hot chocolate, and even chocolate beauty products. What more could you want?

William Curley, the winner of the 2009 Best British Chocolatier prize for the third year running (as awarded by The Academy of Chocolate), will also be hosting a stall.

And here’s another date for your diary. Chocolate Week 2009 will run from 12 to 18 October 2009.

Summary information:
The Chocolate Festival at:
Southbank Centre Square
Belvedere Road
Outside Royal Festival Hall
Friday 3 – Sunday 5 April 2009
11am – 8pm daily (6pm Sunday)
Email: thechocolatefestival@yahoo.co.uk
Web: http://www.chocolate-festival-southbank-london

I am hoping the sunny, beautiful weather that we’ve been having in London for the past few days is a sign that this summer will be a brilliant one. For me, one of the highlight events of the summer is the food festival, the Taste of London. It surely is one of the best foodie events that London has to offer, what with some of this city’s top restaurants setting up camp at Regent’s Park so that we can taste our way through each one. The first time I went was in 2005, and that day was one of the hottest of the year. You couldn’t have asked for anything better; food, booze, and lots of sunshine.

Taste of London 2009 is almost upon us again and tickets are on sale now. It’s on between 18 – 21 June at Regent’s Park, so put these dates in your diary. Here’s to a great summer.

Web: http://www.taste-of-london-2009/

A taste of the line-up *
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester • Asia de Cuba • Benares • Boxwood Café • Bumpkin • Cinnamon Kitchen • Cocoon • Croque Gascon • Fino • Kai Mayfair • L’Anima • L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon • Launceston Place • Le Café Anglais • Le Gavroche • Le Pont de la Tour • Odette’s • Pied a Terre • Quo Vadis Refettorio • Rhodes Twenty Four • Salt Yard • Sumosan • Tamarind • The Grill at The Dorchester • The Landau • Theo Randall • Tom’s Kitchen

* From the 2009 Taste of London website. Correct as at 20 March 2009.

The 2009 Ideal Home Show is upon us again between 20 March to 13 April 2009 at Earls Court, London. For foodies, you might be interested in the ‘Celebrity Chef’s Kitchen Theatre’; a series of culinary demonstrations performed by celebrity chefs. The line-up includes Raymond Blanc from Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons and Jun Tanaka from Pearl. For the 2009 demonstration timetable, a complete list of the chefs that are participating, their bios and the recipes they cooked in the 2008 Celebrity Chef’s Kitchen Theatre, go to the link here.

http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/chefs-kitchen-theatre/

Finally, if you are a Pizza Express Lover, this might be the thing for you. The Ideal Home Show is offering a 2 for 1 voucher on all main courses after 5pm for people who visit the Show. The voucher is redeemable at various Pizza Express locations near Earls Court.

http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/pizza-express-2-4-1-special-offer/

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The International Food & Drink Event (IFE09) is converging at the Excel Centre, London, to bring together food and drink suppliers from across the world (15 to 18 March 2009). This biennial trade event provides an opportunity for the global food and drink community to share ideas, and to discover the latest in food and drink innovation. In 2007, the exhibition attracted over 24,000 food and drink buyers.

If you are not a food or drink buyer, or a restaurateur, you may still find the programme line-up at the IFE09 interesting:

1) The Skillery – run in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs, it will feature live demonstrations from a number of top chefs; and
2) Flavours of the IFE – a series of food seminars.

It’s free to go to IFE09 if you register in advance on their website, saving you the £30 fee charged at the door.

Web: http://www.ife.co.uk/

Dear fellow food lovers, here’s a quick reminder about the upcoming London Restaurant Week which runs from 16 to 29 March 2009. In conjunction with Visa and Lastminute.com, over 100 restaurants in London will be offering some top value menus: two course lunches from £15, and three course dinners from £25. Restaurants include the gorgeous looking Landau, and some Michelin-starred eateries such as Nahm, Quilon, Benares, Tom Aikens, and one of my personal favourites, the Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental. Just as well London Restaurant Week runs for two weeks.

To book, go to www.londonrestaurantweek.co.uk