Venezuelan Arepas Go International on 12 September

Come Join the Venezuelan Arepa Party at Cargo, Shoreditch, on 12 September 

On Saturday 12 September Venezuelans around the world will be flying their national flag, playing Venezuelan music, and gathering together in an act of gastronomic unity to enjoy the country's most emblematic national dish: arepas.

That's because the 12th of September has been christened World Arepa Day (El Dia Mundial de la Arepa), an international event that aims to spread the word about this scrumptious South American street food and turn on local foodies, adventurous eaters, and gastronauts to the joys of the arepa.

These cornflour patties, made from Harina PAN, can be eaten plain, or stuffed with delicious fillings like shredded beef, shredded chicken, black beans, grated cheese, fried plantains and dollops of goopy avocado sauce called guasacaca..

In London, the place to be for this culinary celebration is at the outdoor food area by Cargo, at 89 Rivington Street in Shoreditch, where the folks from the Guasacaca food stall will be cooking up a full spread of fillings to delight all tastes, including vegetarian options, from 12-8 pm (although under 18's can only stay until 4 pm).

One must-try arepa is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas. Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955.

All the arepas cost £6 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

According to David Gutierrez Aznar, who runs Guasacaca, it's a huge honour to create a little corner of Venezuela in London on such an important day.

Harina PAN goodie bags

"We really want to make Venezuelans in London feel like they are at home on 12 September, with traditional games, music and, of course, the traditional flavours of our arepas," says David.

"But we also want British people to come over and try our food because every year we do this the feedback is incredible and when people here try our arepas they really love them."

To set a party mood Chebeto Requena, a Venezuelan musician based in London will be providing traditional tunes throughout the afternoon, and Santa Teresa rum cocktails should warm things up if the weather turns cold.,

Guasacaca have also put together some Harina PAN goodie-bags with a kilo of flour, and a booklet of recipes showing how to make arepas. The bags will be raffled on the day.

For more information follow @guascacalondon on Twitter and the hashtags #WorldArepaDay, #DiaMundialDeLaArepa, and #ArepaLovers

The outdoor space at Cargo will be covered in the yellow, red, and blue of the Venezuelan flag on Saturday, 12 September, to celebrate World Arepa Day. 

Venezuelan Christmas Bazaar, Westminster Hall, 7 Dec

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the usual Venezuelan festive foods so the Venezuelan community in London has organized a Christmas Bazaar at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday, 7 December. There will be stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a feliz navidad Venezuelan style, as well as rum cocktails, traditional music, and a raffle.

Festive favourites on sale include:

Hallacas - A stew of chicken, beef, olives and capers that is stuffed into a maize dough pocket, wrapped in a banana leaf, tied with string and boiled.

Pan de Jamon - A soft bread with ham and raisins inside.

Ensalada de Gallina - A chicken and potato salad.

Pernil - Roast pork.

Ponche Crema - A creamy Christmas tipple made with condensed milk and rum.

Quesillo - Creme caramel, sometimes known as flan.

There will also be face painting and a bouncy castle for the kids to enjoy while you pick up all your Christmas-dinner essentials.

How to get there: Westminster Cathedral Hall is part of the famous Westminster Cathedral (SW1P 1QH). The entrance to the hall is in Ambrosden Avenue, which is reached from Victoria Street or Francis Street.

Ordering Venezuelan Xmas Food in London

Anybody living in London or the surrounding area who is looking to find Venezuelan Christmas dishes made to order should contact Luisa Chavez.

A Venezuelan woman with a talent for making exceptional cakes, Luisa has been providing homesick Venezuelans with all the food they need for a festive Christmas for many years now.

Her specialities include:

Hallacas - Essential to Christmas and New Year festivities, hallacas are a Venezuelan form of the tamale, a stew of pork, beef, chicken, raisins, capers, and other ingredients that is stuffed into a maize dough pocket, wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled. Hallacas are delicious and although essentially a Chritmas dish are eaten in Venezuela from November through January.

Pan de Jamon - Another unmissable dish on the Christmas table, pan de jamon is a soft bread rolled up with ham and raisins inside. Luisa goes the extra mile with her pan de jamon and even personalizes it with your name if you ask her nicely,

Ponche Crema - A form of creamy eggnog made with condensed milk and Venezuelan rum, ponche crema is a great Christmas spirit way to get in the festive mood.

To pre-order ponche crema, hallacas, pan de jamon and tortas call Luisa Chavez on 07985239852, or 01784 241565.

Celebrate World Arepa Day, London, 14 September

Saturday, 14 September is Arepazo Mundial - World Arepa Day - and food stalls and restaurants all over the world will be celebrating the staple food of Venezuela by cooking up arepas (cornbread buns) of all shapes and sizes, stuffed with all manner of tasty fillings.

 

              The Arepazo Mundial brings together all Venezuelans - wherever they may be - in an act of gastronomic unity, and this year is no exception. If you want to join in the celebrations in London, head for the Guasacaca food stall in London's Acklam Village Market, off Portobello Road (W10), which will be serving a full spread of arepas to delight all tastes from 11 am to 6 pm.

The guys at Guasacaca have also organized a special day of Latin music and dancing, courtesy of London radio station Latina Network, that will include live music, salsa classes and other surprises.

For those new to the arepa, these disc-shaped cornbread buns are big enough to hold in two hands and can be eaten plain or with butter. More typically, they are opened up like a pocket and stuffed with savoury fillings, such as shredded beef, black beans, grated cheese, avocado and chicken, or any combination that takes your fancy.

The must-try arepa filling they sell at Guasacaca is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas.

Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955.

The Reina Pepiada is popular with Venezuelan party-goers who like to end a big night out with something sticky, savoury and filling (a sort of South American version of the donor kebab).

But whatever filling you try, don't forget to add the final flourish, a dollop of tasty guasaca sauce, made with avocados, or a spicy splash of picante hot sauce.

All arepas cost £5 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

For the young Venezuelans who run the stall, David Gutierrez, Irua Dugarte, Andrea Villalba and Andres Gonzalez, the Arepazo Mundial is an excellent opportunity to spread the word about Venezuelan food and convert more people to the flavours of their homeland.

Acklam Village Market (W10 5TY) is one of the coolest street food markets in London, a place to feed your face after a morning browsing the antique stalls and vintage clothes shops of Portobello Road. A recent visitor to the stall is none other than British Prime Minister David Cameron (see photo below).

The Guasacaca stall is in front of a laid back bar with tables and sofas where you can sip a beer and listen to live music while tucking into the international street food on offer from the various stalls. On Saturday, expect live music and dancing events organized by Latina Network, a London-based radio station that broadcasts news and music for the Latin American community.

How to get there: Take the Tube to Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith and City or Circle Lines and then cross the street and walk straight on until you get to the market entrance. Alternatively go to Notting Hill Gate on the Central Line and make your way down Portobello Road to Acklam Road.

 

 

To find out more about the arepazo in London go on Twitter - #ArepazoMundial #DíaInternacionalDeLaArepa @GUASACACALONDON @latinanetwork

Venezuelan Gastronomic Fair - London, 9 March

Venezuelan food lovers should make some room for a big blowout and head down to the Irish Centre in Hammersmith on Saturday, 9 March, because the organizers of the annual Christmas Bazaar have decided to hold another massive food fair.

From noon to 6pm a variety of stalls will be selling a range of Venezuelan traditional food, from snacks like arepas and empanadas to full-on feasts of pabellon criollo, pernil (pork), asado negro (beef cooked with cane sugar until black), served with rice, fried plantains and caraotas negras (black beans).

There will be food, music and raffles for all the family, a bouncy castle and face painting for the kids, and Venezuelan-style cocktails like guarapita (passionfruit and rum) for the adults.

Stallholder Luisa Chavez, a Venezuelan who lives in London and is rightly famous for her quesillo (creme caramel) and torta de tres leches (ridiculously delicious cake), will also be bringing homemade Venezuelan queso duro blanco (hard, white cheese) to the event.

Other stallholders include Mi Cocina es Tuya and the folks from Arepa & Co, who Venezuelan food-addicts will already know from their very successful weekend stall at Camden Lock Market.

The Irish Centre is in Blacks Road, Hammersmith (W6 9TD), close to two Tube stations - the Hammersmith and City Line station and the Picadilly and Central Line station.

Venezuelan Xmas Food Bazaar - London - 9 December

For Venezuelans living in the UK, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without all the traditional festive foods so it's good news to hear that on Sunday, 9 December, there will be a Venezuelan Christmas Bazaar at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith (W6 9DT) from 12-6 pm.

There will be stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a Venezuelan-style Feliz Navidad, as well as rum, tropical tunes, and a raffle.

Entrance is free and all lovers of South American food are cordially invited to attend.

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

There will also be stalls selling popular Venezuelan snacks, such as arepas, empanadas, and cachapas, and all sorts of sweet treats like quesillo and cakes.

This popular annual event has traditionally been held at Bolivar Hall - the Cultural Centre of the Venezuelan Embassy - but it wasn't possible to hold it there this year due to a scheduling clash, so it was decided to make the move to the Irish Centre in Hammersmith, a good-sized venue with excellent access via the Hammersmith and City, Picadilly and District lines and several bus routes.

Luisa Chavez, who runs a stall called Tu-UK-Navidena, told me that she is hard at work making hallacas and cakes for the event and suggests anybody who cannot make it on the day or who wants to pre-order their ponche crema, hallacas, pan de jamon and tortas can call her on 07985239852, or 01784 241565.

Other stalls include Arepa & Co, who have been selling arepas and cachapas in Camden Lock Market for several years now, and Mi Cocina es Tuya, who have a cafe-style restaurant in Crystal palace selling all manner of Venezuelan food.

Luisa Chavez and her highly-praised pan de jamon and hallacas.

   

Keep Calm and Eat Arepas - In Portobello Market

Andres Gonzalez and David Gutierrez, who run the Guasacaca food stall in London's Acklam Village Market, have had so many requests for their distinctive "Keep Calm and Eat Arepas" T-shirts that they have decided to sell them. Now you can visit the stall in London's Portobello Road, enjoy a traditional Venezuelan arepa and pick up a cool T-shirt to impress your friends. Guasacaca is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm.

If you want a tasty Venezuelan snack in South London head for Acklam Village Market (W10) - an offshoot of Portobello Road Market - where the folks at the Guasacaca foodstall offer a full spread of arepas to delight all tastes.

For the enterprising young Venezuelans who run the stall, David Gutierrez, Irua Dugarte, Andrea Villalba and Andres Gonzalez, the small but colourful stall is an excellent opportunity to spread the word about Venezuelan food and convert more people to the flavours of their homeland.

For those new to the arepa, these disc-shaped cornbread patties are big enough to hold in two hands and can be eaten plain or with butter. More typically, they are opened up like a pocket and stuffed with tasty fillings, such as shredded beef, black beans, grated cheese, avocado and chicken, or any combination that takes your fancy.

The must-try arepa filling they sell at Guasacaca is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas.

Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955. It is popular with Venezuelan party-goers who like to end a big night out with something sticky, savoury and filling (a sort of South American version of the donor kebab).

But whatever filling you try, don't forget to add the final flourish, a dollop of tasty guasaca sauce, made with avocados, or a spicy splash of picante hot sauce.
All arepas cost £5 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

The latest addition to the stall came about by chance. The "keep Calm and Eat Arepas" T-shirts that the Guasacaca team had specially printed to give the stall. a distinctive look have proved so popular with customers that they have decided to offer them for sale. 

The T-shirts are so popular in fact that David recommends that anyone interested in buying one should contact Guasacaca with their sizes and colour preferences to avoid disappointment, either at their Guasacaca-London facebook page or email them at Guasacacalondon@gmail.com

Acklam Village Market (W10 5TY) is one of the coolest street food markets in London, a place to feed your face after a morning browsing the posh antique shops and cheap and cheerful vintage clothes stalls of Portobello Road.

Guasacaca is flanked by a variety of stalls selling ethnic street foods from a variety of countries. One of the benefits of Acklam is the laid back bar with tables and sofas where you can sip a beer and listen to live music while tucking into your Venezuelan arepas, Jamaican patties or South Indian samosas.

How to get there: Take the Tube to Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith and City or Circle Lines and then cross the street at the zebra crossing and walk straight through the market to Portobello Road, Acklam Village is in front of you on the other side of the road. Alternatively go to Notting Hill Gate on the Central Line and make your way down Portobello Road to Acklam Road.

Celebrate World Arepa Day in London 15 September

The Guasacaca food stall in London's Acklam Village Market will be serving traditional Venezuelan arepas from 11 am to 6:30 pm on Saturday, 15 September, to celebrate the Arepazo Mundial - World Arepa Day.

On Saturday 15 September Venezuelans around the world will be getting together in an act of gastronomic unity to enjoy the country's most emblematic national dish: the arepa.

In London, the place to be for this culinary celebration is Acklam Village Market (W10), where the folks at the Guasacaca food stall will have a full spread of arepas to delight all tastes.

For those new to the arepa, these disc-shaped cornbread patties are big enough to hold in two hands and can be eaten plain or with butter. More typically, they are opened up like a pocket and stuffed with tasty fillings, such as shredded beef, black beans, grated cheese, avocado and chicken, or any combination that takes your fancy.

The must-try arepa filling they sell at Guasacaca is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas.

Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955.

The Reina Pepiada is popular with Venezuelan party-goers who like to end a big night out with something sticky, savoury and filling (a sort of South American version of the donor kebab).

But whatever filling you try, don't forget to add the final flourish, a dollop of tasty guasaca sauce, made with avocados, or a spicy splash of picante hot sauce.

All arepas cost £5 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

For the young Venezuelans who run the stall, David Gutierrez, Irua Dugarte, Andrea Villalba and Andres Gonzalez, the Arepazo Mundial is an excellent opportunity to spread the word about Venezuelan food and convert more people to the flavours of their homeland.

Acklam Village Market (W10 5TY) is one of the coolest street food markets in London, a place to feed your face after a morning browsing the antique stalls and shops of Portobello Road.

The market has a laid back bar with tables and sofas where you can sip a beer and listen to live music while tucking into the international street food on offer from the various stalls.

How to get there: Take the Tube to Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith and City or Circle Lines and then cross the street and walk straight on until you get to the market entrance. Alternatively go to Notting Hill Gate on the Central Line and make your way down Portobello Road to Acklam Road.

Venezuelan Xmas food at UK bazaar - 11 December

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 Sunday 11 December with stalls selling all the seasonal treats you need for a feliz navidad Venezuelan style, as well as rum, music, and a raffle.

Festive favourites on sale include 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.

The folks from Arepa & Co will also be there, serving the full range of arepa fillings and the pan de jamon they sell on their weekend Camden Market stall.

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 Calvo know how to adapt the ingredients they find in the UK to make their dishes taste authentic. They also run the only Venezuelan cafe in London, Cafe Latino, at 61 Westow Street in Crystal Palace (SE19 3RW). Alexis says they will have traditional hallacas, ensalada de gallina, pernil, pan de jamon, quesillo (creme caramel), dulce de tres leches (a sticky, sweet cake) and papelon con limon (a refreshing blend of lemon juice and cane sugar). They'll also be selling a seafood cocktail that is widely believed to have "rejuvenating" properties. Popular at Venezuelan seaside spots, it is variously known as "Vuelve a La Vida" (Back to Life), "Siete Potencias" (Seven Powers) or "Rompe Colchon" (Mattress Buster). Try some and let me know if it works.
Phone: 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 last year which, was one of the best I've had in the UK. 
Currently struggling to fill over 200 pre-orders for hallacas, Roberto 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.
Phone: 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 15 years and makes an excellent ensalada de gallina. 
Apart from the hallacas and hallaquitas on her stall, she does a roaring trade in homemade tequenos, the Venezuelan party snack of choice. 
She'll also have meat and chicken empanadas and dulce de leche.
Mobile: 0794-487-1422
Email: libiamarulanda@yahoo.co.uk






Venue: Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL
Date: Sunday, 11 December, 2011
Time: 12.00-21.00
Nearest Tube: Warren Street
Click here for a map showing the location

Venezuelan fiesta in London- 13/03/2010

Vamos a rumbear! The Venezuelan community in England will be congregating at London's Abacus Bar on Saturday, 13 March, for the second big, sweaty fiesta of the year.

With DJ Hernan Atencio spinning the hottest tropical tunes, Ron Santa Teresa providing the rum cocktails and Arepa & Co serving up typical snacks like arepitas and tequeños, Venezuelan partygoers can look forward to a big night out.

The party is being organized by Venenin (Venezolanos en Inglaterra), a social group that caters for Venezuelan expatriates in the UK, and a big crowd is expected.

Doors open at 9 p.m. and hardcore revellers can dance their way thru to 4 a.m. Admission is £7 before 11 p.m. and £10 after.

Abacus Bar is located in the City of London at 24 Cornhill (EC3V 3ND), a short stroll from Bank tube station.

For more information go to http://www.venenin.co.uk or check out the Venenin page on Facebook.

Feliz Navidad Con Sabor! Venezuelan Christmas

I'd like to say a massive Feliz Navidad to all those who have visited the blog and sent me their comments. Thanks so much for all your support. I promise I'll post more recipes in the New Year.

I also have to say a big thank you to Luisa and Roberto from TU-UKSABORVENEZOLANO for making my Christmas dreams come true.

Thanks to them I was able to enjoy a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dinner on 24 December with homemade ponche crema to keep out the cold, hallacas wrapped in plantain leaves, ensalada de gallina and a huge pan de jamon - with my name on it!

They also made me a wicked quesillo, Venezuela's creole version of the classic French dessert creme caramel, or flan.

All I had to do was crank up the gaitas for some traditional sounds to accompany the great Venezuelan food and drinks.

To order Venezuelan specialities in London contact Luisa or Robert on 0798-523-9852, 0795-610-1227 or 0178-424-5231 or email them at: tu-uksaborvenezolano@hotmail.co.uk

Hallacas and Pan de Jamon - Venezuelan Xmas in London

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

There was a tropical twist to the usual run-up to Christmas in London on Sunday, 6 December, as the Venezuelan community turned out in force to savour traditional festive dishes at the annual Bazaar Navideno held in Bolivar Hall, the Venezuelan Embassy's cultural centre in Grafton Street.

To the sound of gaitas and the aroma of hallacas, the assembled visitors made the most of the opportunity to catch up with old mates, swap stories and introduce British friends to the essential elements of a Venezuelan Christmas.

All the delicious dishes you'd expect to grace the table of a Venezuelan Christmas meal were on display, from hallacas and pan de jamon, to ensalada de gallina, pernil and sweet desserts such as torta de navidad and quesillo.

The most surprising thing about the event this year was the number of stalls making Venezuelan food "por encargo" ("to order") and the range of dishes being offered, from pasapalos (party snacks) like tequenos to Christmas drinks like Ponche Crema.

Venezuelans offering traditional food to order

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.

Telephone: 0208-768-2701
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 and the pastry was just right.

Mobile: 0798-523-9852
0795-610-1227
0178-424-5231
email: tu-uksaborvenezolano@hotmail.co.uk

Lulu's Flavours


Libia Marulanda has been cooking for the ambassadors of Venezuela for 14 years and makes and 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.

Mobile: 0794-956-3783
0794-487-1422

Cornmeal Cravings and the Hunt for Harina Pan

Sometimes you can travel the world looking for something only to get back and find it was just round the corner all along. That's what happened to me when I went looking for Harina Pan, the basic ingredient for Venezuelan arepas.

You can say what you like about arepas; I've heard them described as "bland stodge in a bun", which is unfair, and "about the size of an ice-hockey puck and just as easy to digest", which is only partly true (the bit about the size).

But for millions of Venezuelans, the arepa is their daily bread, a versatile savoury snack that can be baked, fried or grilled, but is always guaranteed to fill you up.

For millions of families in Venezuela a steaming arepa smothered with butter and stuffed with cheese or ham makes a delicious start to the day.

For clubbers, fast food joints called areperas offer arepas stuffed with black pudding and spicy chorizo sausage as a pick-me-up after a night of sweaty salsa dancing and Cuba Libre cocktails.

The thing is, once you've got the taste for arepas nothing else will give you the same satisfaction. It's such a blank canvas. The taste of the cornmeal is so soft and subtle that it brings out the flavour of anything you stuff inside it; meat, black beans, scrambled eggs, avocado, anything.

After I moved from Caracas to the small town of Caversham in the UK, it wasn't long before Summer turned to Autumn, sunny days turned to drizzly grey, and I started to hanker for a few tropical treats to brighten the gloom.

I didn't know it then but I was suffering from cornmeal withdrawal. I needed maize, ground pre-cooked maize flour made into a dough and gently patted into a flying saucer shape, lightly toasted on both sides in a frying pan to give it a "cara" and then popped into the oven for twenty minutes or so.

I needed arepas.

My cornmeal cravings got so bad that I started to hunt down stores in the UK that sold Harina Pan.

After a quick search on the Internet and a few dead ends I found that the best place to get my maize-flour fix was in London, in the shops run by Colombians and Ecuadorians next to Elephant and Castle tube station. Cool.

The big shopping centre and the small shops in the railway arches behind it are a also a great place to pick up other stuff, like hot picante sauce and Latin music.

Looking further afield I also tracked down a small cafe/store in Brixton selling Colombian food that was another source for the coveted ground-maize mix.

But it was an effort schlepping all the way into London for a few ingredients and I started to go less and less, limiting my arepa blowouts to the odd times when I was lucky enough to be able to visit Venezuela.

But things are looking up. I've just found this new place in Reading, just across the river from Caversham.

Al-Medina in Oxford Road looks like any other Asian food store from the outside. It sells okra, sweet potatoes, every curry sauce under the sun and those massive bags of rice. But inside, wedged between the herbs and spices they have a shelf stacked full of Harina Pan, the white one, la buena.

At only £1.89 it's also the cheapest Harina Pan I've found in the UK.

So if you're getting cornmeal cravings and you're hunting for Harina Pan in the Caversham, Reading or Berkshire area, look no further than Al-Medina on Oxford Rd.

Now, if only I can find some cachapa mix, Toddy, a little tin of diablitos, some Venezuelan peppers, you know, aji dulce, the small sweet ones, Pampero Rum, Torontos, an ice-cold Solera Verde, the new CD by Los Amigos Invisibles... and... and... and...

By Russell Maddicks

Recipe: How to Make Arepas

Arepa and Co: The only Venezuelan food outlet in the UK

Arepa de Maiz Pelao: Making Arepas the Hard Way

Glossary: Eating at an Arepera

La Reina Pepiada: The Curvy Queen of Arepas

Recipe: Caraotas Negras - Venezuelan Black Beans

Recipe: Carne Mechada - Venezuelan Shredded Beef

Pabellon Criollo - Venezuela's national Dish

Al-Medina Stores is at 168 Oxford Rd, Reading, RG1 7PL.