Yellowtail Taquito by Sushi Samba at Taste London.

Aysegul Kesimogou guest blogs for Curzon PR with a short treatise on the power of food to bring people and cultures together, and how festivals such as Taste of London can act as soft power tools to promote understanding.

The British have long had to deal with their culinary critics, who accuse the nation of lacking a legitimate national cuisine and speak derisively of its stereotypical fish and chips. Even the Brits themselves tend to mock their own cuisine at times, albeit it their dry sense of humor. While Britain is home to world-class restaurants, I was recently surprised to discover that the culinary scene in London was not like this at all just 15–20 years ago.

Today, London especially has a thrilling culinary scene comprising numerous different cuisines, pop-ups, innovative chefs (both emerging and celebrity), ‘no reservations’ joints, home-made food and wine entrepreneurs, secret dinners and dining clubs. London is also a trendsetter and an importer; it has become a hub for tasting events and festivals.

So why is this a new phenomenon then, relatively speaking? Recently, queuing to get into the evening session of Taste of London, I was amazed to discover that this delicious festival is interestingly also a relatively newbie on the scene, at only a decade old. Was this possibly purely a coincidence? Or, was this an actual portrayal and attestation of the embedded powers of large-scale national events? Could Taste of London have influenced the food scene in London, or was it the nascent international restaurant selection here that in turn fostered the increasing popularity of Taste of London? Was this ‘soft power’ at work?

Indeed, the association between soft power and mega scale events has long been recognised. For instance, The London Olympic Games of 2012 served as an excellent example of this association, where the opening ceremony, directed by Danny Boyle, astonished not just a few lucky viewers within the audience, but an overwhelming number of other people around the globe who were glued to their TV sets for over two weeks. Overall, the Games altered the position of many critics and won over even passive bystanders with its a remarkable collective spirit and the energy in the air; whilst also reminding the nation itself of its historic pinnacles and the past.

Bringing together a variety of different ‘tastes’ from around the world, including Italy, Brazil, Thailand and France, as well as celebrating the chefs and the people who showcase such a wide array of culinary samples in London, Taste of London demonstrated its soft power by consolidating a powerful cosmopolitan image. It was not just about food or the national cuisine, but rather, it was an affirmation of the fact that London is one of the world’s top culinary capitals. It is in this city that one can sample anything from a yellowtail taquito (see Sushi Samba) to confit of roe deer (L’Autre Pied) or Pad Thai Noodles (Tamnag Thai).

In fact, the most powerful image of Taste of London (and London itself) as the cosmopolitan gourmet hub was brought together of the greatest ambassadors of soft power – a group of chefs who together had created The 5 Star Burger for the cause Action Against Hunger. Created by Raymond Blanc, Valentine Warner, Giorgio Locatelli, Thomasina Miers and Fergus Henderson, this delicious creation was made from French comté cheese (matured for 18 months), that oh-so-British dry-cured-treacle-smoked streaky bacon, and Mexican chipotle ketchup. As one would imagine, it was perfectly cosmopolitan.

Could 10 Years of ‘Taste of London’ do for food and the UK what the Olympics did for national pride? Together with other simultaneous culinary developments that have all contributed to the consolidation of London as a culinary hub in the last decade, could we alter that longstanding bias against British culinary fare? From what I have witnessed this past weekend, it looks like this might just be the case.

Aysegul Kesimogou is currently writing her thesis on Food Tourism at King’s College. For more information visit her Linked In page at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/cmci/people/student/kesimoglu/index.aspx

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