Last Thursday marked the start of the festive edition of the Taste of London food festival, and with it came the issue of hosting a large food event in the middle of a pandemic.
People explore the Taste of London festival at the Tobacco Dock, London
To enter the festival, attendees were first required to show proof of either full vaccination, a negative LFT or natural immunity due to having a positive PCR test within the last 180 days.
Instead of being a potential deterrent, the extra health measures taken by Taste of London made attendees feel more comfortable and many people were ready to get out after being in lockdown for so long.
Alexis, postgrad student and Taste of London attendee
Alexis Clukey, a postgrad student at City University, said: “I’m vaccinated, and the event was requiring people to either be vaccinated or test negative before coming, that made me feel a little more comfortable about coming.”
She said that after being in lockdown for so long, she was ready to “get back to living life a little more normally and start experiencing the things like this that make life much fun.”
Alexis said all large events, like Taste of London, should “have some safety health measurements to stop COVID from spreading.”
“The three things are masks, being vaccinated or a test beforehand…Having two of those things should be required for events,” said Alexis.
Mark Seeley, a London resident, came with three of his friends to Taste of London, just as he had several times before the pandemic.
As someone who had come beforehand to Taste of London, he could see the differences between this year’s event and the pre-COVID festivals.
“The biggest difference is almost a bit of desperation to get out and enjoy this experience because we haven’t been able to in the past two years. There are definitely fewer food stalls than the summer one,” said Mark.
A stall offering craft beer at Taste of London
Jordan Montlake, a friend of Mark, believes having a food event like this during COVID is risky.
“It’s risky, but then no one’s making anyone come here, so ultimately, if you choose to visit you are taking a risk,” said Jordan.
Ultimately, if you have a reason why you can’t be vaccinated you can still take a lateral flow.”
Jordan, just like Alexis, believes lateral flow tests or proof of vaccination should be demanded upon entry on bigger events like this.
This belief probably stems from the fact that their friend group encountered someone with COVID in the summer edition of Taste of London.
Jordan said: “We were in Regent’s Park in the summer, that was probably our first big crowd event and we all got pinged on the NHS App, but that is the choice you make.”
People sampling the food on offer at Taste of London
However, all things considered, today’s event was a big success and all in attendance were able to enjoy the atmosphere and the food on offer in a safe, welcoming environment.
“We are a family that loves food, drink and experiences,” said Mark, “we’ve been to Taste of London in the summer in Regent’s Park so we automatically came here for the festive season… this is our opportunity to experience the breadth and depth and just taste [different places] in London.”