Venezuelan Xmas food on sale at UK bazaar

For details of the 11 December 2011 Venezuelan Christmas Bazaar at Bolivar Hall, London, click here.

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the usual Venezuelan festive foods so the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in London has organized a Christmas Bazaar at Bolivar Hall on 12 December with stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a feliz navidad Venezuelan style, as well as rum, music and arts and crafts.


The annual event at the Venezuelan cultural centre has become a  firm favourite with Venezuelans living in the UK and all those who appreciate exotic South American cuisine. 


Festive favourites on sale include Venezuelan hallacas (a stew of chicken, beef and capers wrapped in maize dough and a banana leaf and then boiled), pan de jamon (a soft bread with ham and raisins inside), ensalada de gallina (a chicken and potato salad), pernil (roast ham) and some homemade versions of the traditional tipple ponche crema. 


Given the popularity of the event and the difficulty of obtaining Venezuelan seasonal dishes elsewhere, the following stallholders are taking orders ahead of the bazaar, so nobody goes away disappointed:


Mi Cocina es Tuya

After many years in the business of cooking Venezuelan food Alexis and Mary Pulido know how to adapt the ingredients they find in the UK to make their dishes taste authentic. They have provided the catering at Anglo-Venezuelan Society events and have a well-established food stall at the annual Carnaval del Pueblo in Elephant and Castle, the largest Latin American outdoor festival in Europe. They recently opened the only Venezuelan cafe in London, Mi Cafe Latino at 61 Westow Street in Crystal Palace.

Telephone: 0208-771-4078
Mobile: 0750-862-6486
Email: micocinaestuya@hotmail.com
webpage:Mi Cocina es Tuya



Tu UK Navidena

Roberto Jardin and Luisa Chavez might look like cowboys in the photo, but there was nothing dodgy about their pan de jamon, which was one of the best I've had in the UK. Currently struggling to fill over 200 pre-orders for hallacas, Luisa says this year will be the biggest yet for the bazaar and they promise to have an even wider selection of savoury dishes and desserts.

Telephone: 0178-424-1565
Mobile: 0798-523-9852
0795-610-1227

Email: robertojardin@hotmail.com


Lulu's Flavours
Libia Marulanda has been cooking for the ambassadors of Venezuela for 14 years and makes an excellent ensalada de gallina. Apart from the hallacas and hallaquitas on her stall, she was doing a roaring trade in homemade tequenos, the Venezuelan party snack of choice. She'll also have meat and chicken empanadas and dulce de leche.
Email:  libiamarulanda@yahoo.co.uk
Mobile: 0794-487-1422


Venue: Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1
Date: Sunday, 12 December, 2010
Time: 12.00-21.00
Nearest Tube: Warren Street

Christmas cachapas on sale in Covent Garden - more here.