The London Restaurant Festival (LRF) returns for its 10th year this October. With a star-studded line-up of some of the world’s top chefs jetting into London to celebrate, as ever LRF will take place in restaurants, welcoming over 50,000 people into over 400 restaurants across the capital.
This year’s festivities will centre around the international nature of London’s restaurant industry with some of the most exciting chefs in the capital. “As part of our 10thanniversary we’ve chosen the ten cuisines we feel have transported London to its position as the culinary capital of the world,”said Festival Director Chris Wright.
Each of the ‘Top Ten Cuisines’ will be represented by one of the world’s best chefs, including Bill Granger, flying in from Australia, Michelin-starred husband and wife Dylan Jones and Duangporn ‘Bo’ Songvisava from Bo.Lan in Bangkok, who will team up with som saa, and one of the world’s most decorated female chefs Anne-Sophie Pic who holds seven Michelin-stars and will be hosting a dinner at La Dame De Pic. Galician Chef Javier Olleros will cook alongside Nieves Barragan Mohacho at Sabor, whilst Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino from Lima’s Malabar will champion the food of the Amazon alongside Martin Morales at Peruvian restaurant, Ceviche.
LRF’s Tasting Menus, which see 20 menus exclusively created for the Festival, will this year feature chef-hosted events for the first time including Ben Chapman at Kiln (recently voted the UK’s Best Restaurant in the 2018 National Restaurant Awards),Monica Galetti at Mere, and Adam Handling at The Frog. Alongside this, there will be a unique pop-up; Hertzstück™ Dining Room, where guests are invited to explore the future of dining through a sensory, theatrical tasting menu.
A series of events will celebrate Thailand’s culinary scene and the impact it has had in London. A series of Tasting Menus will run throughout the month at the likes of som saa, Kiln and Greyhound Café, as well as a Gourmet Odyssey visiting three of London’s top Thai restaurants. There will also be an opportunity to win a trip to Thailand, with Thai Airways International, Amazing Thailand and Hyatt hotels.
This year, the Ultimate Gastronomic Weekends will include an overnight stay at one of two 5-star, London hotels (Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill and Andaz London Liverpool Street)and a series of chef-led events and dining experiences. Returning better than ever, the first weekend will feature five famous chefs – Michel Roux Jr, Melissa Hemsley, Francesco Mazzei, Vivek Singh and Wright Brother’s Richard Kirkwood. The second, a Michelin-packed weekend, will feature five Michelin-starred restaurants, including Club Gascon, City Social and Angler before renowned 2 Michelin-Starred chef Claude Bosi hosts a special lunch at Bibendum.
There are several brand new events for LRF 2018, including: Eat Art, fusing two of London’s great passions with an exclusive private view and dinner at the Saatchi Gallery; Eat Talk, delving into the minds of some of the industry’s best-known names including the legendary Pierre Koffmann, Andrew Wong and Michelin-starred husband and wife team James Knappett and Sandia Chang. Celebrating the quintessentially British obsession, luxury tea brand Newby Teas will also join the festival with a series of LRF Tea Tasting Masterclasses plus exclusive Curator Tours of their prized Chitra Collection – the world’s largest private museum of historic teawares.
Restaurant-Hopping Tours, an LRF staple, will see diners discover some of London’s most exciting food neighbourhoods by enjoying five different restaurants in the area. From Chelsea’s charming Pavilion Road, to St James’s and Regent Street, and the newly revamped Battersea Power Station, guests will enjoy a course at five restaurants within the neighborhood, with drinks from the likes of Remy Martin, Zonin Prosecco, City of London Gin and paired wines selected by ChaliéRichards wines. Devonshire Square will return this year along with Estrella Galicia’s Tapas Tour, and a spin around St Katharine Docks showcasing its restaurants along the water’s edge.
“Little did we know ten years ago just how far London’s restaurant scene could travel,” says LRF founder Simon Davis. “Happily it has flourished and, as a result, so has the festival. London is unquestionably one of the world’s leading culinary destinations and a melting pot of cultures and cuisines from the farthest reaches of the globe. The Festival has grown accordingly – celebrating the diversity of London’s restaurants with creative events that encourage everyone to get out there and try something new.”
LRF 2018 now has over 60 events during the course of October.
