Urban Food Fortnight 2016: a rip-roaring success

Over the course of the fortnight, hordes of hungry city dwellers enjoyed a stack of delicious feasts, lovingly prepared by brewers, bakers, chefs and producers. Glad rags were donned at fine-dining brasserie Mews of Mayfair who created a special menu derived from ultra-local producers, while, at the Brunel Museum roof garden, the Midnight Apothecary concocted a magical atmosphere with botanical cocktails and toe-warming campfires.

Out in the gardens, autumn and all its growing glories were celebrated by Capital Growth’s Urban Harvest Feast when community food-growers opened their plots to the public for edible garden tours, workshops, and shared meals. At Pop-Up Kimchi, home cooks learnt to preserve and pickle Korean style and the Disco Soup event at the Skip Garden made use of surplus food to create an amazing event incorporating food and dancing. 

Beer-lovers glugged artisan ales on a tour and tasting of Redemption Brewery at Tottenham Social while Hackney Herbal gave their drink a medicinal twist at the Drunken Herbaler pop-up bar.

It wasn’t all gorging and glugging though, as serious debate on the future of urban food played out between influential speakers such as Sustain Coordinator Kath Dalmeny and Food Waste Campaigner Tristram Stewart at the 5X15 event at Farmopolis. Cookery book worms attended the launch party for Slow Dough: Real Bread, the first recipe book by the Real Bread Campaign.

The fortnight was a fabulous demonstration of the great triumphs of London’s local food scene. Opened by London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan at Borough market, the Urban Food Awards dished out some much-deserved recognition to the capital’s greatest enterprises, products and people. 

Many thanks to all of those who took part – make sure you keep an eye on the Urban Food Fortnight page for news of #UFF2017.

www.urbanfoodfortnight.org