Taste Festivals

Taste Festivals is a company which runs a series of food festivals around the world. As of 2012, these have taken place in fifteen cities. The events typically have the prefix "Taste of", although the company also runs The World Restaurant Awards. The events are typically attended by restaurants who operate mini-kitchens, these include Michelin starred restaurants.

Description

The events run by Taste Festivals feature mini-kitchens from different restaurants, along with live demonstrations from chefs. The restaurants featured have included Michelin starred establishments such as Rhodes 24 and Le Gavroche at Taste of London.[1] The Best in Taste award is given out by each festival to the restaurant who serves the best dish at each event.[2]

History

Taste Festivals launched in 2004 with the first Taste of London, which took place at Somerset House.[3] The London event was moved to Regent's Park in 2005, where it has remained since.[4][5] The show was named Best Consumer Show at the 2012 Exhibition News Awards.[5] A second London-based event runs later in the year, entitled the festive edition of Taste of London. It runs on similar principles to the main Taste of London event, with a greater focus on festive shopping alongside restaurants and live demonstrations. As of 2016, the festive edition of Taste of London is held at Tobacco Docks, London.[6]

Taste of Edinburgh was first run in 2007, initially at The Meadows, but after two years moved to Inverleith Park.[7] In 2012, the festival was called off at late notice following high levels of rainfall in the days prior to the event making the site unsafe for the expected number of visitors.[8] Initially the plans were to continue with the event despite the weather.[9] As of 2012, there have been Taste festivals held in fifteen cities around the world, the restaurants at the 2012 Taste of London held a combined 11 Michelin stars.[3]

The events were expanded to Africa in 2006 with Taste of Joburg,[10] and expanded in 2008 to add a second South African event with Taste of Cape Town,[11]

In 2013, Taste Festivals were acquired by IMG.[12]

Hong Kong was added to the list of Taste Festivals in 2016. The festivals have been held at the Central Harbourfront, and outdoor space with the iconic city skyline as the backdrop. In 2018, the Taste of Hong Kong festival welcomed approximately 24,000 foodie enthusiasts over the 4 days and continues to grow in popularity.

The Big Festival

Taste Festivals began running the Jamie Oliver backed Big Feastival in 2011, a combination event featuring both restaurants and musical artists.[13] The initial plan was to host the event in Victoria Park during 2012 to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics, however due to branding restrictions this plan was cancelled.[14] The event instead was arranged to take place at the farm of musician Alex James in Oxfordshire, who had previously hosted a similar festival in 2011 which resulted in the event's organisers going out of business due to the losses involved.[15] In 2013, The Big Feastival was acquired by IMG alongside Taste Festivals.[16]

List of Taste Festivals
Australia
Ireland
Europe
United Kingdom
Middle East
Elsewhere

References
  1. "Taste sensation for chefs and foodies". Caterer.com. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  2. "Club Gascon's 'Marmite Royal' Awarded Best Dish at Taste of London". Taste Festivals. 23 June 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  3. "The To Do List: Taste of London". Esquire. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  4. "AVA strawberries target top-end market". Morning Advertiser. 7 July 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  5. Ford, Richard (5 April 2012). "Best show gong for Taste of London". The Grocer. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  6. Vines, Richard (16 September 2009). "London Chefs Set for Christmas -- With Chocolate: Richard Vines". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  7. "Taste of Edinburgh food festival forced to find a new home". Scotsman. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  8. Smith, Jim (7 July 2012). "Taste of Edinburgh festival called off after flooded site deemed unsafe". STV. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  9. Piper, Laura (5 July 2012). "Brolly up and wellies on for a Taste-tastic time". STV. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  10. Mkwanazi, Sibusiso (19 September 2011). "Tasting Joburg". The Citizen. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  11. "Taste of Cape Town". iafrica.com. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  12. IMG ACQUIRES TASTE FESTIVALS FROM BRAND EVENTS
  13. Luker, Sara (3 July 2012). "Food festival featuring Jamie Oliver and Alex James hires House PR". PR Week. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  14. Ridley, Louise (26 April 2012). "Exclusive: Jamie Oliver Olympic Feastival plans scrapped". Event. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  15. "Alex James and Jamie Oliver to host music and food festival". BBC News. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  16. "Brand Events sells Taste Festivals for £4.97m". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  17. Shailer, Annette (19 February 2010). "Food Lovers To Enjoy Taste of Sydney". The Shout. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  18. "Taste Festivals". Channel 4. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  19. "Taste of Dubai announces irresistible offers for their upcoming event in February '08". AMEinfo. 23 December 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  20. "Taste of Auckland". Scoop Independent News. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  21. "Taste of Hong Kong". Taste of Hong Kong. Taste of Hong Kong. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
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