Chicken Satay with the usual trimmings from Paddington Restaurant Tukdin. Also saw a cooking demonstration from their head chef, who seems like a very friendly and talented young man:
Next from Gaucho: Argentine Black Angus steak with chimchuri sauce and humitas (an Argentinian kind of tamale): crushed sweetcorn and masa harina flour steamed in a leaf. Steak had a nice flavour, but the steamed sweetcorn number was spectacular.
The best dish so far from Angela Hartnett's York and Albany: Pistachio crusted lamb cutlet with soused tomatoes and a smoked aubergine puree (served in what I can only describe as a 'turd-shaped-cone'). Tasted great though - weirdly intense brown colour in the puree. Not sure how they achieved that.
Daube of Beef a la nicoise from Le Gavroche, with braised olives and a cheesy soft polenta. Beautifully cooked and wholesome, though not necessarily hot weather food. Michel Roux Jr was pressing the flesh at the stall.
The headline chef today was Rick Stein, who was, slightly bizarrely, there to promote Malaysian food (there's also a whole Malaysian section near the entrance). I've always had a soft spot for old Rick, so it was nice to see him up close and watch his cooking demos. He seemed a bit hot and flustered, and the cooking didn't go quite as planned. But he came across as the same easy going guy he is on TV and the audience loved him. Saw him make a grilled fish and a coconut chicken curry.
Some other famous faces - Georgio Locatelli at his stall (didn't eat there)
And Gok Wan (left) paired up Jun Tanaka (right):
Saving the best to last - the two dishes I sampled from modern Japanese restaurant Dinings. The best food I had at the festival last year also came from Dinings, and I've had dinner there in the meantime. First some chilli garlic black cod. Just sensational.
And finally one of the 'signature dishes', a new concept that's been introduced this year. The signatures are a way of charging even more than the already excessive prices at Taste. But in this case the 8 quid cost was (almost) worth it: Seared wagyu sushi two ways. One with a chunk of seared foie gras on top. Not sure what all the minutely portioned seasonings and sauces on the dish were, but it was definitely the standout dish of the day
So, a fun day out, and some amazing food, but there's one overwhelming flavour that lingers in the mouth: the bitter taste of having been thoroughly milked of your hard earned cash. It costs around 22 pounds just to get in the gate, and then every dish is at least 3 to 4 pounds, with the "mains" costing from 5 upwards. Considering these are all just tasting plates it works out pretty expensive.
I don't think you can come here planning to try a few different dishes without spending at least 50 quid. If you're really going for it and having some drinks it will easily be £75 and up. Great as it was I'm not sure it's worth that much money.
The clever thing to do would probably be to cut out the middle man, save half your money and just go and have dinner at Dinings.
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