Mad about Mondongo? Wild about guarapita? Everything you ever wanted to know about Venezuelan food and drinks, including help understanding menus, easy-to-follow recipes and delicious cocktails to make at home. Eso si es Sabroso....
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.
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.
Venezuelans have been stocking up on yellow underwear, sparkling wine and grapes in the last few days, in the traditional build up to the celebration of New Year's Eve, or Fin de Año.
The locals love to welcome in the New Year with a massive bang so sales of fireworks or "triqui-traquis" have also been brisk - especially the annoying little firecrackers called "fosforitos", the bigger "empanaditas" and the fearsome rockets with names like "Matasuegra" ("Mother-in-Law Killer") and "Tumba Rancho" ("Shanty Destroyer").
As in many other places in the Spanish-speaking world, New Year traditions in Venezuela involve various ways of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new one in a way that will bring good luck, good health, love and prosperity.
Yellow pants are worn to bring luck and money (they are the colour of gold after all), and red pants are believed to improve your chances at finding love and romance.
Make sure to wear the pants under your clothes, as you would normally.
At my first Venezuelan New Year's Eve party, I made the mistake of pulling over my jeans a pair of canary-yellow bikini briefs I'd been given for the occassion by a well-meaning friend.
While it was funny for about two minutes to strut about like a skinny superhero, it did look a bit wrong on the dancefloor, and if it hadn't been for the gallons of Black Label whiskey and Polar Ice beer we'd been drinking all evening I would have felt a bit self conscious when we went house to house to share a drink with the neighbours.
Some kids in the street even thought it was hilarious to shoot little bottle rockets at me while shouting "mira, aqui viene el supermancito" ("look, here comes the little Superman"), lighting the rockets while holding the sticks in their hands and then firing them straight down the street at my distinctive New Year attire.
Luckily, nobody got burnt, but I did feel a bit confused when I woke up the next day on the sofa with a sore head and these strange pants strangling my nether regions. Even if they'd been bright scarlet I cannot see how they could have brought me any luck in the romance department.
Another popular New Year's custom is to wear new clothes for the first time - known as "estrenos" (just as a new film has its "estreno", its premiere) - again to bring good luck and prosperity.
Generally, New Year's Eve parties follow the same pattern as Christmas Eve, with festive music such as gaitas - classics like "Viejo Año" by Maracaibo 15 or Nestor Zavarce's New Year tearjerker "Faltan Cinco Pa' Las Doce" - and the usual salsa vieja and reggaeton party favourites followed by a meal of yuletide foods such as pan de jamon, hallacas, ensalada de gallina, pernil and drinks like ponche crema.
As the countdown begins to the magic midnight hour guests quickly grab their 12 grapes and a glass of sparkling wine or champagne and try to gobble down a grape for each of the 12 chimes, known as the "12 campanas".
As each grape represents a good month in the year to come you can imagine the rush to get them down.
Any remaining grapes are usually washed down with champagne as the last chime of midnight ends, which is the cue for "los cañonazos" - the deafening fireworks displays that mark the start of the New Year.
This is also time for New Year hugs and kisses, generally to the sound of a traditional New Year song like "Año Nuevo, Vida Nueva" ("New Year, New Life") by Billo's Caracas Boys.
Few traditions are as dramatic as the annual burning of the "Old Year" in the Andean states of Merida, and Tachira, where papier mache figures representing the problems of the old year are paraded through the streets before being burnt at midnight to the sound of gaita music and the deafening explosions of thousands of triqui-traquis.
So now you know what to do to have an authentic Venezuelan New Year's Eve party. Grab some grapes, slip into your best yellow pants and have a fantastic New Year.
Paz, amor y prosperidad and a Feliz Año Nuevo pa' to' mi gente!
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 fromArepa & Cowill 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
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.
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
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.
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.
