Thousands of food-lovers gathered at London’s Business Design Centre over the weekend of 19-20 July for the 2025 National Geographic Traveller (UK) Food Festival — a celebration of some of the world’s most exciting ingredients, dishes, culinary talents and cuisines. In its fifth year, the festival is one of the biggest and most high-profile events in both the food and travel calendars, featuring delicious street food, tasting sessions, workshops and a line-up of chefs and food personalities, which this year included Yotam Ottolenghi, Andi Oliver, Clodagh McKenna, Asma Khan and José Pizarro.    

The 2025 show was sponsored by Ecuador Tourism, Explore Louisiana, Visit The USA and LATAM Airlines. Meanwhile, one-stop travel service provider Trip.com sponsored this year’s Masterclass Theatres. 

Glen Mutel, managing editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said: “This year’s event was a big success, with a great line-up of chefs, authors, sommeliers and vendors, who between them represented countless international cuisines. We also responded to demand and expanded our Tasting Sessions — a decision that’s been well received. But what was most pleasing was just how many new culinary experiences there were on offer for our visitors. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the event.” 

Highlights of the 2025 Food Festival 

Main Stage 
This year, the Main Stage welcomed a high-profile line-up of chefs and food personalities, with festival favourites Andi Oliver, Asma Khan and Jeremy Pang just some of the big names who cooked their favourite dishes live. They were joined by newcomers Yotam Ottolenghi and Clodagh McKenna. The weekend also saw cooking demos from: 

• Chef-restaurateurs José Pizarro and Karan Gokani 
• Cookbook author and chef Dina Macki 

Speakers’ Corner 
Host Farida Zeynalova sat down with a stellar line-up of cookbook authors, who discussed the inspiration behind their latest cookbooks. They included: 

• Tim Anderson, speaking about his latest love letter to Japanese cuisine, Hokkaido 
• Jess and Jo Edun, talking about their acclaimed release The Flygerians Cookbook 
• Christina Soteriou, discussing her latest book, Big Veg Energy 

The Masterclass Theatres 
Visitors to the Cinnamon and Saffron Theatres were shown how to make specialities from destinations such as Louisiana, Ecuador, Georgia, Greece, Barbados and Türkiye, with author Petty Elliott putting together an Indonesian gado-gado salad and chef Maksut Aşkar delivering a modern spin on baklava. 

Wine & Spirits Theatre 
This ever-popular area at the front of the venue remained a hub of activity throughout, with guests invited to sample the best from wine destinations such as the Czechia, Portugal, Georgia and Ecuador, as well as some of the best Japanese sake. 

Tasting sessions, workshops and more 
With a second dedicated Tasting Session room added to the programme this year, visitors were invited to try high-quality chocolate, Italian truffles, the best of British and French cheese, cocktails from Latin America and the Caribbean and the freshest coconuts. These sold-out sessions were joined by the Photography Workshops, with Charlie Richards, Giulia Verdinelli, Karolina Wiercigroch and Ben Pipe showing budding photographers how to shoot food images like a pro. 

In terms of street food, hungry attendees tucked into beef tacos, chicken crepes, freshly steamed momos and more. Elsewhere on the festival floor, exhibitors from across the globe offered-up samples, expertise and travel inspiration, while ticketholders were able to buy gifts and ingredients from a range of food brands and artisan producers.    

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

The National Geographic Traveller (UK) Food Festival was held on 19-20 July 2025 at London’s Business Design Centre. The festival, first launched in 2019, is a celebration of food and travel and adopts a zero food-waste policy. foodfestival.natgeotraveller.co.uk     

National Geographic Traveller (UK) is published under licence by APL Media Limited, from National Geographic Partners LLC in Washington, DC. The travel and lifestyle magazine launched in December 2010 and is packed full of you-are-there photography, authentic travel experiences and inspiring narratives. nationalgeographic.com/travel    

For more information about National Geographic, visit nationalgeographic.com, download the National Geographic app or visit Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok.   

 
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About APL Media 
APL Media is a multi-award-winning content marketing agency and publisher, producing high-quality print, digital and live media across the travel and lifestyle sectors. Since 1997, it’s published National Geographic Traveller (UK) under licence from National Geographic Partners LLC, supported by brand extensions including guides, events and digital platforms. The portfolio also features Living360, a digital lifestyle brand covering wellness, travel, food, sustainability and culture, distributed via national media and its own platform. APL Media delivers custom content, branded campaigns, editorial consultancy and leading events such as the Travel Media Awards and Step Up. Its trade titles include Postcards and the ASTA Worldwide Destination Guide, with content also produced for national newspapers. 
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