National Geographic Traveller (UK) Food Festival announces full line-up for 2023

The National Geographic Traveller (UK) has unveiled the full line-up of guest speakers and exhibitors for this year’s Food Festival, which returns to London’s Business Design Centre for a star-studded weekend celebrating culinary travel on 15-16 July 2023. 

Hosted by award-winning magazines National Geographic Traveller (UK) and Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK), the two-day event invites visitors to taste the world, with wine tutorials, international tastings, culinary masterclasses, live demonstrations, on-stage interviews with acclaimed cookbook authors and talks from celebrity and up-and-coming chefs.

The line-up will bring together some of the most exciting names in modern gastronomy. The festival’s Main Stage will welcome the likes of MasterChef judges John Torode and Anna Haugh, while Speakers’ Corner will showcase Caribbean specialist Andi Oliver and The Hebridean Baker Coinneach MacLeod.

Tickets are priced at £26 per person, including booking fee. A limited number of additional tickets to the Wine & Spirits Theatre are available at the price of £6 per session, purchased in advance, with up to two drinks tastings included.  For more information, and for the booking link, visit: foodfestival.natgeotraveller.co.uk  

Main Stage

The Main Stage will feature demonstrations and interviews with the culinary world’s leading lights, including:

MasterChef judges John Torode and Anna Haugh

Restaurateurs Thomasina Miers and Ravinder Bhogal

Writers Ixta Belfrage and Melissa Thompson and many more

For the full Main Stage line-up, visit: foodfestival.natgeotraveller.co.uk  

Speakers’ Corner

Over on Speakers’ Corner, there will be an absolutely stellar line-up of cookbook authors will talk through their latest releases. The programme will take a deep dive into the culinary destinations that inspired these works, with visitors invited to ask questions before being given the chance to purchase their favourite cookbook and get it signed. This year’s line-up includes:

Andi Oliver, who’ll be discussing her long-awaited debut, The Pepperpot Diaries

Petty Pandean-Elliott, author of The Indonesian Table

Coinneach MacLeod, whose latest release, The Hebridean Baker: At Home, celebrates recipes and stories from the Scottish islands

For the full Speakers’ Corner line-up, visit: foodfestival.natgeotraveller.co.uk

Masterclass Theatres

Alongside the festival’s guest speakers, two Masterclass Theatres will host live cooking demonstrations from more than a dozen destinations across the world, including:

Azerbaijan

Ecuador

The US and many, many more

Wine & Spirits Theatre

This year’s Wine & Spirits Theatre will also embark on a global tasting tour, featuring everything from Czech and Californian wines to Tennessee whiskey and Kentucky bourbon.

Attendees can book sessions to learn more about more about their favourite tipples before visiting the Drinks Showcase to try, and buy, wine, spirits, beer and non-alcoholic beverages from all over the globe.

Main Hall

Finally, the Main Hall is going to be packed with a wide range of exhibitors, from tourist boards to producers, who’ll be available to inspire visitors through demonstrations, samples and stories. Some of the planet’s best chefs will be there to put a spin on classic dishes, with tourist boards on hand to tell you more about the culinary destinations that inspired them.

Meanwhile, in partnership with Brand USA, Travel South USA is hosting the Travel South Pavilion, offering visitors a homespun way to discover the flavours of the Southern states. Highlights include demonstrations by renowned Southern chefs and drink aficionados serving as Travel South Ambassadors, who’ll prepare tasty samples and share stories behind the region’s food and drink, along with inspirational travel information. 

A ticket to the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Food Festival offers visitors an immersive experience, giving them the inspiration to plan their next trip and get better acquainted with global cuisines. 

Thousands of food-lovers poured into the Business Design Centre in 2022, and with this year’s event promising to be even bigger and better, be careful! Because tickets are expected to sell out quickly. 

Tickets include entry to the festival, with access to all interviews, Q&As, panel sessions and chef demonstrations.   

For the full line-up, and to book a ticket, visit: foodfestival.natgeotraveller.co.uk  

Main website: News, features and more: nationalgeographic.com/travel 

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