There’s not much explanation needed for this, because basically it’s just an awesome weekend of barbecued meat. But obviously I will expand for you guys!
Meatopia is a festival of high quality, ethically sourced meat, all cooked over ethically sourced wood and charcoal by some of the world’s top chefs. A weekend-long event with meat, drink, fire and music, Meatopia UK has become a legendary event for food lovers. Only three years old, tickets sell out fast. Make sure you join their mailing list so you’re the first to know when they go on sale for next year.
I didn’t get tickets last year, but this year I was poised and ready to go! I was traveling back from Ibiza (posts to follow!) on the Saturday so I opted for Sunday tickets. What a great way to help ease the holiday blues.
Hearing that the queues for some of the offerings can get pretty long we headed over to sunny Tobacco Dock for just after midday. This was definitely a good plan. It meant we could wander around whilst the fires were warming up ready for first service and decide our plan of attack. Yes, you need a plan of attack. It would be ludicrous not to – there is just so much on offer, and unfortunately it’s impossible to eat it all, even with my husband in tow.
Feast your eyes on the treats we enjoyed….
We started off with the chicken shawarma, smoked garlic tahini and dill pickle from Berber & Q, and what a great way to start. Soft, fluffy pockets filled with bbq’d chicken worked well with the tangy pickle and creamy tahini. We loved the crispy chicken skin too!
Another great offering was the Shikshukit from Machneyuda. This was a deconstructed kebab served with minced meat, yoghurt and tahini. It was warmly spiced and served on top of bread to soak in all those delicious juices!
The next dish we hadn’t factored into our game plan, but as we were walking past chef Jock Zonfrillo from Australian restaurant Orana, we saw there was no queue, they shouted out to us and we came. And I’m so glad we did! Aged venison shoulder with leek and potato was the dish of the day and a nice break from the middle eastern style dishes we had already tried. The soy and garlic sauce was wonderfully tangy and accompanied the rich venison perfectly – a really nice dish.
Walking outside into the glorious September sunshine we saw the Blacklock guys hard at work manning their fire. The pit roasted middlewhite pigs, yorkshire pudding and onion gravy was spot on. The pork so juicy and well, I could have drunk the onion gravy it was that good. I think this dish was a test for potential Sunday lunches in Soho and if that’s the case, then please make this come true guys!
Now those that know me know I love a spicy chicken wing and blue cheese dip. So it was a no brainer when it came to ordering the duck wings with harissa and pomegranate molassess with blue cheese ranch from Dan Doherty. I’ve not tried duck wings like this before, and although not as much meat as I thought there would be they were sticky, punchy and served with a massive pickle. Loved it.
Also I can’t forget to tell you about the great live music! There were some great bands on during the day, one in particular was Thrill Collins. They had everyone singing along and dancing – such a great atmosphere. There was different music throughout the venue which I loved.
We finished off with some great ice cream from Sorbitium Ices. I ordered earl grey and elderflower sorbet and strawberries, buttermilk and meringue, how very British of me. I need to get my hands on a tub of the earl grey and elderflower – it really carried the flavour making it so refreshing after all the rich meat we had eaten.
The weather was incredible and this definitely added to the day, but the food alone is a reason to go. With the great live music, talks from tops chefs and demos going on throughout the weekend, it has a great festival feel to it. If you like meat (sorry veggies) then you need to buy your ticket for next year – that’s an order!
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Mmmm! I found out about this too late this year and missed out on tickets! Going to have to make sure I get some for next year! Looks like the weather was lovely for you too 🙂 x
You definitely need to get tickets next year!! Yes, it beautiful weather for September! x
Wow, this looks incredible. Made me hungry again even though I’ve just had lunch!
Rosie xx
It was such a good day – you’d love it. Wish I could have eaten more! Ha. x
This sounds awesome and totally yummy♥♥
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