Tasting Britain
TastingBritain.co.uk -Bellavita Expo @ The Business Design Centre, Islington, London
2015 was a good year for many reasons. It was The Bellavita Expo's first year. And a GLORIOUS way to get started. Shit went down at Islington's Business Design Centre (which is, as far as I can tell, essentially a huge hall with a bunch of small and startup businesses dotted about the place). I was here in my 'official capacity' (insofar as my shambolic self can be official at anything) as one of the judges - basically eating and drinking what appears to be a randomly assigned collection of eclectic, eccentric and exciting foods from all over Bella Italia. As you can imagine, a huge building mainly full of Italian people was simultaneously loud, friendly and exciting. I went only for one day and wish I had come for more (I didn't even get through a fraction of the wines on offer).
Bellavita was "created to globally promote the Excellence of the Made in Italy gastronomic heritage"- I'm not sure if they've yet succeeded in that goal, or how to tell if/when they do (since the UK is apparently already spends £402bil+ a year on Italian stuff!), but if that means building more links between the British trade and the Italian producers, then they're getting somewhere.
Anyway, what you see is what you get with Bellavita - it's an opportunity to go full retard on a bunch of Italian food and drink, all conveniently organised in one place for your delectation and delight. The twist, if there is one, is that a huge portion of the food here does not have distribution in the UK. So it's the chance to try and buy some new and unusual variations on the foods you already know, or to discover some entirely new ones.
For example, I discovered a few new things that I suspect will now be a part of my life. One of which is 'rum baba' - a type of powerfully, immensely unhealthy (and delicious) cakethat is steeped for a long period of time in rum liqueur. It's like eating food and drinking alcohol AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME and i'm not sure if it's safe to keep a jar at home. Highlights of the evening? Underwater, bottle aged wine from Ravenna - Tenuta del Paguro (but it costs too much). Anyway, well done Bellavita, let's be seeing you next year!
TastingBritain.co.uk -Bellavita Expo @ The Business Design Centre, Islington, London
2015 was a good year for many reasons. It was The Bellavita Expo's first year. And a GLORIOUS way to get started. Shit went down at Islington's Business Design Centre (which is, as far as I can tell, essentially a huge hall with a bunch of small and startup businesses dotted about the place). I was here in my 'official capacity' (insofar as my shambolic self can be official at anything) as one of the judges - basically eating and drinking what appears to be a randomly assigned collection of eclectic, eccentric and exciting foods from all over Bella Italia. As you can imagine, a huge building mainly full of Italian people was simultaneously loud, friendly and exciting. I went only for one day and wish I had come for more (I didn't even get through a fraction of the wines on offer).
Bellavita was "created to globally promote the Excellence of the Made in Italy gastronomic heritage"- I'm not sure if they've yet succeeded in that goal, or how to tell if/when they do (since the UK is apparently already spends £402bil+ a year on Italian stuff!), but if that means building more links between the British trade and the Italian producers, then they're getting somewhere.
Anyway, what you see is what you get with Bellavita - it's an opportunity to go full retard on a bunch of Italian food and drink, all conveniently organised in one place for your delectation and delight. The twist, if there is one, is that a huge portion of the food here does not have distribution in the UK. So it's the chance to try and buy some new and unusual variations on the foods you already know, or to discover some entirely new ones.
For example, I discovered a few new things that I suspect will now be a part of my life. One of which is 'rum baba' - a type of powerfully, immensely unhealthy (and delicious) cakethat is steeped for a long period of time in rum liqueur. It's like eating food and drinking alcohol AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME and i'm not sure if it's safe to keep a jar at home. Highlights of the evening? Underwater, bottle aged wine from Ravenna - Tenuta del Paguro (but it costs too much). Anyway, well done Bellavita, let's be seeing you next year!