The Halal Food Festival is coming to East London. It styles itself the UK’s first festival to celebrate halal food, and claims to be the largest event of its kind in the world. It will be at the Excel Centre over a long weekend, from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th September.
The festival will be a celebration of halal foods from around the world. There will be over 100 exhibitors, showcasing innovative and traditional food and drinks. There will be live demonstrations from Shelina Permalloo (winner of Masterchef UK 2012), Cyrus Todiwala OBE (Patron Chef of Cafe Spice Namaste) and Jean Christophe Novelli (5 out of 5 AA Rosette and Michelin award winning chef). And there will be plenty of opportunities to make pit stops at a range of food stalls and restaurants to keep you going throughout the weekend.
Festival organisers explain that, “Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permissible. It not only covers food and drink but also all matters of daily life. Followers of Islam (Muslims) must follow a dietary requirement that does not permit pork or pork products, alcohol and only allows meat slaughtered in accordance to strict guidelines in the Qur’an. Halal food is not a cuisine or a style of cooking in its own right. Therefore any cuisine or style can become halal provided it is cooked using halal ingredients and prepared in a halal manner.” Tickets are in the region of £20, with discounts for early booking. For more information, go to http://halalfoodfestival.com .