Live fire cooking festival Meatopia has lifted the lid on a mouth-watering roster of international chefs set to descend on London this summer for the event’s 10th anniversary.
Over 100 chefs are descending on the four-day feast, which will be held at Tobacco Dock from August 31 to September 3. Big names already confirmed include six-time champion Pit Master Tuffy Stone from the US, Oaxacan star Thalía Barrios Garcia, Zé Paulo Rocha of top Lisbon restaurant O Velho Eurico and Swedish barbecue team Holy Smoke, who will drive their smoker and van across Europe for the festival.
Although the full Meatopia 2023 line-up won’t be announced until July, plenty of UK talent will working the coals too. Harneet Baweja will show off the north-west Indian cuisine of his new venture Empire Empire – complete with Bollywood jukebox – while Tom Brown of London pop-up Decatur will serve up his trademark South American seafood dishes. Caribbean food from chef and writer Keshia Sakarah will rub shoulders with the team from Woodfire Canteen, renowned for their wild dining experiences and long table feasts.
A new initiative this year sees Meatopia join forces with Food Behind Bars, a charity dedicated to transforming food in prisons. Chef Milli Taylor will cook alongside former inmates of East Sutton Park open prison, which teaches women farming and butchery skills.
Originally founded in the US by the late Josh Ozersky, Meatopia was first brought to the UK in 2014. The event’s 10-year milestone sees it extend over an extra day to accommodate the record number of visiting chefs. Each menu undergoes numerous tasting sessions and refinements to ensure it complies with Meatopia’s founding ethos, which balances top quality cooking and bold flavours with a commitment to sustainability and responsibly sourced ingredients.
Ticket holders can roam the stands, watching chefs at work and exchanging festival currency “Meatbucks” for as many dishes as they can handle. Anyone needing a digestive pause can soak up the smoky atmosphere over a craft beer or cocktail at one of the bars, browse stalls selling essential barbecue accessories, and soak up the live music. For more information and tickets visit www.meatopia.co.uk.
