Food Day: Culinary Walking tour and Food Market

 Food Day: Culinary Walking tour and Food Market

Another busy day! We started the day with a culinary walking tour with a guide named Sophie that took us around the city. She explained the history of the city of London as it related to food and highlighted key features such as gin, beer, Indian cuisine, fish and chips, tea, and coffee that made the city as we know it today. The most interesting story to me took place in 1814 when a pipe burst in a brewery, leading to a 15 foot wave of beer flooding the city and killing eight people. I was also interested in how coffee evolved through time, from first being a drink for rich, white men to discuss business affairs to now being a drink enjoyed by 83% of people in London daily! On the tour, we stopped at a bakery that has been around for 150 years called Maison Bertaux where Hal treated us all to almond croissants! Thanks Hal!! We ended the tour at a food market called Spitalfield Market. It was a huge market with many shops and vendors -- much bigger and more modern than both Greenwich and Borough market. I got some delicious pork soup dumplings and coffee from a cute truck called Grind. I ordered a white chocolate hazelnut latte with oat milk. It was very sweet and cost £5 for a small cup, so not my favorite coffee. 

Grind Coffee truck at Food Market

Maison Bertaux pastry shop



Sticky Toffee Pudding

We then went to Hawksmoor for sticky toffee pudding - a traditional British dessert. It was very sweet and reminded me of a lava cake. It had a caramel tasting sauce on top and a a dollop of cream. It was very sweet and dense but I enjoyed it! We ended the day with some shopping, where I found some boots and a purse! Fun filled day with lots of free time to shop and explore!

Comments

  1. RunnerMomMarch 13, 2025 at 7:28 PM

    Your blog is brewing up some fascinating insights! From the grounds of coffee's exclusive history to its filtering into Londoners' daily lives - what a rich revolution. That tour sounds like a latte fun, and Maison Bertaux seems like the perfect blend of history and flavor. Also L5 for a small Latte? That's a bitter pill to espresso! Keep sharing your adventures -- they are the perfect pick-me-up! xoxo

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