Taste of London: Winter Food Festival, Tobacco Dock

London’s finest culinary celebration, complete with delicious food, abundant cocktails, cookery masterclasses and a glittering new cast of the city’s hottest chefs, returns to the Victorian halls of Tobacco Dock from 21 – 24 November.

Whether you’re an avid foodie or keen to discover new culinary heights, the Taste of London: Winter Food Festival is a chance to eat your way around the city’s best restaurants. Expect to sample cutting-edge dishes of world-famous chefs, pick up the best cooking products on the market and meet some of Britain's best gourmet food producers.

As well as lauded restaurants making a return (Hoppers, Xu and Bao included), visitors will have the chance to saunter between pop-up versions of several of the newest foodie hot spots: Instagram favourite TŌU, Thai barbecue masters Smoking Goat, and veggie Middle Eastern newbie Bubala (a hyped-up collab between ex Berber & Q and Barbary chefs) among them.

Also new for this edition is The Campfire: a place to digest and debrief on what you’ve sampled complete with cosy blankets, roaring fire pits and marshmallow toasting.

When enjoyed to its fullest, Taste of London is as much about the experiences as the sampling of dishes. From alcoholic jam-making workshops to interactive paella-cooking tutorials, there’s plenty of classes to sink your teeth – and cooking skills – into. Plus, don’t miss Action Against Hunger’s culinary experience taking place across the festival, with a sizzling line-up of top chefs creating new variations on classic dishes in aid of the charity.

The Fire Pit, with its fire-breathing pyrotechnic displays, is also making a return. Here, a starry line-up of chefs including Great British Menu winners James Cochran and Selin Kiazim, and Lagom’s Elliot Cunningham will be adding their signature twists to Christmas classics. And those looking for something beyond the street food-style experience of the festival should book into the Diners’ Club VIP Lounge.

For a gourmet experience that looks as festive as it tastes, head to the grotto, where instead of Santa, you’ll find the River Cottage’s Steven Lamb cooking up the ultimate Christmas feast. Then for one night only on Thursday evening, Atelier Salmon, Josh Katz and Simon ‘The Butch’ Taylor are creating a one-off Feast in the Forest experience: an immersive banquet in a winter forest setting, where champagne and winter punch cocktails can be found flowing.

Speaking of drinks, there’s a host of pop-up bars to duck into between courses: Laurent-Perrier Champagne, Tanqueray No.TEN gin and Ketel One vodka are among the household names running stands at the festival. Also look out for Islington cocktail bar Laki Kane, promising to mix Thailand’s Chang beer into its infusions (we’re as intrigued as you are). Those after a post-feast digestif, meanwhile, should head to Kuka Coffee’s secret Espresso Martini bar. Linger there for long enough and you might even witness the bar become a rave in a cave.