Will the real WORLD’S GREATEST RESTAURANT FESTIVAL please stand up?

pea veloute by ducasseFor Taste of London to merit its self-bestowed title of WORLD’S GREATEST RESTAURANT FESTIVAL, two things need to happen: First, the annual food fest must prove itself superior to the nightly one in San Sebastian’s Parte Vieja. Second, the organizers, Taste Festivals Limited, must stop making the same grandiose claim for Taste of Edinburgh

I had a great time at this year’s Taste (18-21 June), if not for all the same reasons as the good people at Channel 4 sales.  They were enticed by an “upmarket, aspirational consumer event” with a “strong ABC1” audience. Fearing sensory overload I mostly ignored the high managerials and low cleavages, which you can find in abundance at any happy hour near Liverpool Street Station, and instead pursued body overload, with select noshes from amongst 40 of London’s better restaurants. This you cannot do – and should not attempt to do –  in the immediate vicinity of Liverpool Street Station.

Taste fulfills its promise of providing open-air access to a wide variety of dishes from acclaimed restaurants that only the A’s within Channel 4’s coveted ABC1 audience can afford to frequent with any regularity. Most impressively, the kitchen staffs perform at a high level while serving 100 covers per hour in claustrophobic conditions. The festival appears to be a big deal for the star chefs, which makes it a big deal for the public.

Glorious Regent’s Park is no level playing field for Michelin-starred cuisine. Perceptions of foods change when consumed in a standing or walking position from plastic tableware. Fussy foods lose out to finger foods. Hot soup is almost always a bad idea; chilled soup, invariably a good one (e.g. the elegant pea velouté from Jocelyn Herland, executive chef at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester). And flaunted luxury is in all instances a plus. Having endured endless queues, the festival foragers need to see they’ve waited for something rich.

philippe patruno of quo vadisThis partly explains how chef Jean-Philippe Patruno of Quo Vadis stole the show with grilled rib of 48-day Hereford beef. This was steak and this was beautiful. Though many requested slices cut from the rib eye, Patruno preferred the portion nearer the bone, protected from the blazing heat by the rib eye’s rim of fat. “The meat slowly melts,” noted Patruno, using the sort of words that win food festivals. “It’s like a confit cooking in its own fat.” Who is going to say no to that?
quo vadis rib of beef

robuchon foie gras burgerThe foie gras burger presented by L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon proved to be the perfect festival dish: a popular barbecue sandwich with a precious main ingredient and scrumptious accessories. Served on a brioche bun, the mini-burger was seared to a delectable crisp, with verjus-marinated roast peppers and ginger glaze providing saucy notes of condimental pungency.

croque duck burgercroque gascon crazy saltCroque Gascon didn’t hide foie gras directly beneath the bun of its terrific duck burger; it shrewdly served slices of it (in terrine form) directly beside it. I may have been the only person in Regent’s Park who was less distracted by the foie than the “crazy salt” sprinkled over the duck-fat frites. If Croque doesn’t begin selling that mix of Fleur de Sel de Guérande and Piment d’Espelette in jars soon I promise that I will.

giorgio grates trufflesgiorgio locatelliPlaying the conspicuous luxury card, celebrity chef Giorgio Locatelli chose to charm his adoring audience at the Refettorio booth with a hand grater and summer truffles. Rising star Francesco Mazzei of L’Anima did the same, as if he were emulating his charismatic countryman. He scattered the truffle shavings rather generously over fettuccine with wild mushrooms.francesco mazzei and truffled pasta
l'anima chef at taste of london

Mazzei and I somehow got to talking about linguine vongole: instinctively he identified this as one of my weaknesses. He noted how the starch from the pasta water was required to transform the vongole sauce into an emulsione with emozione. That sounded good to me.

Mazzei and I parted with this wager: If, when I visit L’Anima, his linguine vongole is not the best in London, he pays. If I concede that it is the best, I pay double.

11 Comments

  1. Gastro1

    You are a brave man taking on Francesco at doing anything involving food . Personally I would not even take him on in a bread buttering contest.

    However I might take you on who ever makes the best Linguini Vongole the other pays for a full 5 course meal meal at L’Anima !

    Reply
  2. Dan

    And who, @Gastro1, would judge the vongole challenge you are proposing?

    Reply
  3. msmarmitelover

    As a vegetarian I TOTALLY love spaghetti vongole. With the white sauce not the red.
    Maybe I should check out l’anima.
    Back in March I made it al cartoccio.
    Was very pleased with it.

    Reply
  4. Dan

    Sounds lovely, @msmarmitelover. I am already dreaming of the dizzying aromas released at the moment you open the pouch. With vegetarians in mind, Mario Batali does his linguine con le vongole finte (“linguine with fake clams”) with fingerling potatoes – http://bit.ly/6s0N0

    Reply
  5. msmarmitelover

    He’s a right fatty that Mario isn’t he?
    Yes it was really special I must admit. I will definitely make it again. Even my daughter ate it and she is dead fussy.
    At the risk of sounding ignorant, what are ‘fingerling’ potatoes? Are they clam shaped?

    Reply
  6. Dan

    Fingerlings are very small, narrow, finger-shaped potatoes. I don’t think this term is used in the UK, but I think several heirloom varieties of it are cultivated in Britain.

    Reply
  7. Gastro1

    Fancesco himself or Henry Harris

    Reply
  8. Dan

    I’m getting cold feet, @Gastro1

    Reply
  9. Gastro1

    so what you are suggesting now is we get the chef’s to fight it out Locatelli v Massei and we be the judges ?

    fair enought it’s their metier after all ! bring it on and may the best Vongole win

    Reply
  10. Gastro1

    oops that should read Mazzei

    Reply
  11. Dan

    FM vs GL would be a dream matchup, don’t you agree, @Gastro1?

    Reply

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