THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
No sooner has the red, white and blue bunting come down and the zany monarch masks been put away that the sun, waiting on the horizon for the clouds of an age old archaic and irrelevant institution to disappear and the tea dances to slow to a halt while Liz huffs and puffs out her last candle, spreads its rays wide and far across the kingdom’s skies and burns brightly and gently into the night urging us to celebrate the real perennial phenomenon of the ages – the great British summer.
And what better way to celebrate than by heading to Regents Park in that most cosmopolitan, least royal and spectacularly international, sampling all of the breadth and depth of flavours that contemporary, innovative London cuisine has to offer in the annual Taste of London festival?
Now in its 18th year, the Taste of London is old enough to vote and old enough to drink too, judging by the sheer variety of tasty libations on offer in the festival. From the crisp, peppy taste of traditionally pressed Aspall Suffolk cider - drunk while basking in the summer sun predicted to hold steady for most of the festival’s duration - to that perennial refreshing, English fruity fave, Pimm’s, to the many independent breweries experimenting and thriving in modern England’s experimental and all embracing brew culture, a stroll through the festival will cater to anyone’s tipsy tastes, as it did to ours.
The star of the festival though, without a doubt though, as he should be for any American, expat or tourist alike hankering for the charred and smoky scents of home, was the irresistibly charismatic West London rap artist-turned-TV-chef and not coincidentally most excellent raconteur, Big Zuu. Manning the fire pit, flanked by his sous-chefs and barbecue-chefs, charismatically and comically narrating us through his flaming barbecue of flanks stakes and skewered beef, spitting bars and handing out jollof while the crowd rhythmically danced in time to his beautiful blend of rap artistry and food artistry fusing together into one big summer shindig, Zuu was in fine form, cracking jokes and correcting fans on the correct pronunciation of plantain (‘we don’t say “mount-ayn”; so why should we say “plant-ayn”, it’s plantin, bruv!). He is well known on British TV for Big Zuu’s Big Eats and Big Zuu’s Breakfast Show. The man knows how to entertain a crowd with food and the jollof is pretty amazing as well.
Although Big Zuu will not appear past Wednesday, there will be expert chefs and top British restaurants at the fire pit all week to inaugurate the summer food fest.
As well as seasonally appropriate fare, the urban event showed itself to be lockstep on trend with the food zeitgeist of the moment, as one would expect any self-respecting metropolitan London event, featuring yummy treats from plant-based British chain neat burger as well as faux-beefed up food truck snacks from Internationally popular Beyond Meat, famed for it’s uncanny verisimilitude, and judging by its offering at the festival, positively moreish taste.
The festival is a positively glorious way to revel and while away a few hours in the sun away from the tourist traps of nearby Baker Street and is a true representation of what diverse culinary variety London has to offer!
It is on until Sunday 19 June. Bon Appetit!
