Black Eats Fest, held multiple times a year in London, showcases flavours and cuisines from entrepreneurs, innovators and disruptors representing Black British food culture. With an intentional focus on black-owned small businesses, this street food style event hosted by Black Eats LDN, the UK’s first black-owned restaurant directory, is an unmissable chance to meet chefs, food vendors and product makers and to browse selections of arts, crafts and literature served with a backdrop of pulsating tunes from live DJs in a fun-filled and family-friendly atmosphere.
First, a Nod to London’s African and Caribbean Food Revolution
London, with its rich diversity and vibrant tapestry of global cultures, has firmly established itself as a culinary capital where it is possible to savour cuisines from every corner of the world. Amidst this melting pot of flavours, African and Caribbean cuisine has carved out a respectable niche, appealing not only to the self-styled ‘keepers of the tradition’ but also to curious adventurers and discerning food lovers alike.
The food that many of us grew up with is having a prolonged, unexpected moment of prominence. It really does feel deeply connected to the soul of modern London’s Black African diaspora. – Jimi Famurewa, GQ
However, there was a time when, as a Black Londoner, if your food-curious work colleague asked where they could sample African and Caribbean food in London, you first paused and took a deep breath. You then sifted through a mental directory of ‘mom and pop’ establishments tucked away in hard to reach neighbourhoods that could possibly provide a decent introduction to what was then considered an ‘obscure’ food culture.
Today, a simple postcode search in the Black Eats LDN restaurant directory and a visit to a Black Eats Fest event will save you all that trouble. But we shall return to that later.
With much respect to those early pioneers, their establishments (mostly casual eateries and takeaways) served an important purpose as vital social hubs and cultural spaces for people of African and Caribbean heritage. The ingredients and recipes they offered were known and appreciated mainly by nostalgic patrons holding on to their cultural heritage and seeking a taste of their homelands.
Revolutions suggest sudden but impactful events in history that people remember with either a sense of pride or one of dread. They are disruptive and often last only as long as the disruptors who engineer them.
Keen observers of London’s food scene may look to the period between 2012 and 2019 as the time when the movement to promote African and Caribbean food in London took on revolutionary status.
Emerging from that new wave of creative minds were establishments like Pitanga by Nky Iweka, Chuku’s by brother-and-sister duo Emeka and Ifeyinwa, Ikoyi London by Iré Hassan-Odukale and Jeremy Chan and Brixton-based Caribbean restaurant Fish, Wings & Tings, to name a few. Pop-ups and food trucks serving African and Caribbean food became more visible at London’s markets and festivals attracting customers driven largely by social media buzz.
With restaurants like Akoko, Chishuru and the aforementioned Ikoyi garnering industry recognition and a slew of awards in recent years, one can almost conclude that London’s African and Caribbean food revolution has succeeded.
The instigators, partakers and inheritors of that food revolution are innovative, adventurous and unafraid to challenge long established cultural norms. The resulting effect is a delightful plethora of cuisines, food truck vendors, restaurant owners and food producers from Britain’s Black communities that have now found their lane in the mainstream of London’s food culture.
Entering this mix is Black Eats LDN, the UK’s first Black-owned restaurant directory founded by Bristol-born/Jamaica-formed food entrepreneur Jackson Mclarty in 2020. The enterprise is now in its 4th year of operations.
Black Eats LDN is the longest-standing platform of its kind. We’ve hosted the largest number of attendees, the most Black-owned businesses and put the most amount of money into the Black community as well. – Jackson Mclarty
Black Eats LDN: The Expert Guide to London’s Black Food Culture
The arrival of Black Eats LDN into London’s African and Caribbean food scene could not have been more perfectly timed. Coming out of the 2020 pandemic, the pent up desire to get back outside and experience the freedoms we all missed coincided with an unprecedented wave of support for small and local businesses.
At the time, I was thinking, “What about black businesses? Yes, a lot of them are local and small businesses but I wanted to really hone in on that ‘black-owned’ part of it. I guess the real reason for doing it in the first place was to create a free resource for people to use [so that they] have no excuse for not supporting black-owned businesses. – Jackson speaking to Translate Culture in 2023
Evidence that the audience was primed and ready for Black Eats LDN is the growing number of establishments listed on the directory since its inception.
Apart from being a directory for black-owned businesses, Black Eats LDN hosts and participates in various food festivals and events throughout the year. However, it is their flagship event, Black Eats Fest, that caught our attention.
Black Eats Fest is a vibrant celebration of street food, art, literature and music from Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora. It showcases small businesses, food makers and producers, artisans and craftspeople and more.
Black Eats Fest: From the East End to South East London
The pioneering Black Eats Fest events were held in Hackney, East London and attracted an enthusiastic group of vendors and patrons. They were held as mainly outdoor events and had vendor kiosks arranged in a linear layout with not much seating space.
After three years in Hackney, Black Eats Fest returned in 2024 with a new evolution of their popular street food events by moving to the Fireworks Factory at Woolwich Works in South East London.
Not only does this spacious and modern venue provide a chance to accommodate more vendors, the Fireworks Factory’s combination of mix-purpose indoor and outdoor spaces offers a better layout for food and non-food vendors and provides them with an equal chance of attracting visitors. The layout also naturally disperses people around the venue and with good traffic flow between each area and ample seating, visitors are not congregated in a single area.
The hardest thing with attending a Black Eats Fest event is deciding which vendors to patronise. As soon as we stepped into the outdoor section, we were struck by the variety of aromas and offers available.
Rack City Ribs was an early favourite of ours. Not only were the slow cooked ribs full of flavour, they really meant to give us ‘food bellies’ with their generous-sized plates including coleslaw and cornbread! The Suya Pit satisfied our craving for those notoriously succulent and spice-filled slices of grilled meat while Jollof Mama ticked the box for a taste of the famous West African rice dish.
The Guava Kitchen brought their ‘A-game’ with vegan versions of Caribbean favourites. We looked longingly at ‘Whatsonthemenuish’, a Caribbean seafood fusion vendor selling jerk fish and prawns and Bakes Town selling saltfish and plantains but we had already satisfied our hunger by then.
We did not have to wander too far to find cocktails. Havana Club and Las Olas had the best rum-based cocktails this side of South London. The constant queue at Pure Cane was testament to the popularity of their freshly pressed sugarcane drinks.
Non-food vendors are also represented at Black Eats Fest. We visited vibrant stands selling art, literature, hair and beauty and health and wellbeing products. We also chatted with small business owners eager to share the remarkable stories behind their brands.
We especially loved how Black Eats Fest had two different live DJ sets; one serving up entertaining Afrobeats and Amapiano indoors and another DJ dishing out popular soca, reggae and other Caribbean tunes to an enthusiastic outdoor group in the courtyard. Same venue, two different vibes that complemented each other well to create a lively atmosphere!
Blessed with great weather when we visited, we preferred hanging out in the courtyard, head bobbing, food in one hand with the other hand raised in the air in sync with the vibes.
If Black Eats Fest and Black Eats LDN are the purveyors of African and Caribbean food in London, then it is safe to conclude that the future of Black British food culture is packed with flavour, good vibes and longevity.
Useful Information
The selection of food vendors can feel slightly overwhelming for first timers. Although the servings are typical street food-sized portions, there’s only so much one can eat before hitting your limit.
Therefore, our suggestion is to plan to attend this event with a group of like-minded taste seekers. If the group buys multiple things and each person orders something different, you can all sample each other’s selections (Note to self: This can be a challenge when you find items so good that you really want to gobble it all up on your own!)
The 2024 Black Eats Fest events were held over two days (Saturday and Sunday). The format features two seating sessions, an afternoon session (12pm to 4pm) and evening session (5pm to 9pm). Events are typically held over two days
Black Eats Fest plans to be back in 2025 and to follow the same schedule as this year with events planned for April, June and September.
For more information about future events, follow @BlackEatsLDN on Instagram