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.

   

Venezuelan Food at Kingston Food Festival - 20-21 Oct

Venezuelan food is the star attraction at Nochia's International Food and Music Festival, 20-21 October, in Kingston Market, London, KT1 1JS. Stalls will be serving food from 12:30-17:30.

Erika Urvina and the team at Liqui Liqui foods have been cooking up a storm to prepare a proper Venezuelan spread for visitors to the Nochia International Food and Music Festival in Kingston Market this weekend.

This is the perfect opportunity to try a delicious Venezuelan-style empanada (deep-fried pasty) stuffed with pollo (chicken), domino (black beans and white cheese) queso y platano (plantain and cheese), cazon (baby shark) or chilli con carne. They will also have pepitos de pernil (pork sandwiches).

If you have a sweet tooth try one of the tortas (cakes), or a quesillo (creme caramel), all homemade to traditional Venezuelan recipes.

You can also wash your empanadas and tortas down with a drink of papelon con limon (sugarcane juice and squeezed lemons), chicha (milky rice drink) or a tizana (juice of mixed fruits),

The South London food festival will feature live music by bands such as Ant Hatcher, Fused, Stairway to Eleven, and Ethnic Fusion, alongside an equally funky fusion of ethnic foods from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Morocco, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

For more details of the Nochia Food and Music Festival in Kingston Market click here