Food Season

This Week in London – Gold bunnies at Hampton Court; St George’s Day at Trafalgar Square; and, ‘Food Season’ at the British Library…

by exploringlondon

Wishing all our readers a happy Easter!

Hampton Court Palace. PICTURE:  Karen McKeogh/Unsplash

• The Lindt GOLD BUNNY hunt has returned to Hampton Court Palace this Easter. People visiting the palace can seek out the gold bunnies hidden around the gardens – currently also the location of the Tulip Festival – and those children who believe they have found them all will be rewarded with a chocolate treat. Included in general admission. Runs until 21st April. For more, see https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/

• A free, family-friendly event celebrating England’s rich heritage through music, dance, and workshops will be held in Trafalgar Square on Monday to mark St George’s Day. The event, which runs from noon to 6pm, will be hosted by singer-songwriter Harleymoon Kemp and includes performances by The Nigel Grice Jazz Collective, the English Folk Dance and Song Society, singer-songwriter Matilda Garcia, South London-based dance company Bird and Gang, spoken word artist Palacio de Poetas, West End Kids, and harmony group Vocal Shack. St George and the famous Dragon will also be roaming the square and the event also features traditional Morris dancing from the Belles of London City, the chance to meet the Pearly Kings and Queens and a closing ceilidh led by Cut A Shine, a troupe of traditional musicians and dancers. There will also be a variety of food and beverage stalls. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/events/st-georges-day-2025

• The British Library’s ‘Food Season’ – featuring a programme of live talks, panel discussions, workshops, and exclusive tastings – kicks off today. Now in its seventh year, events include a conversation with cookery icon Dame Prue Leith who will be talking about her life in food with journalist Jimi Famurewa, an expert panel discussion on the impact of weight-loss injections on our society, a contribution from cult food magazine Vittles looking at the point of a cookbook?, and a conversation between chef Nadiya Hussain and celebrated author Candice Brathwaite. There’s also an event celebrating the late Californian feminist food writer, MFK Fisher, with her daughter, Kennedy Golden, Alastair Harper from band Extradition Order (who will be performing as part of the event) and authors Rebecca May Johnson and Gurdeep Loyal. The final weekend (31st May to 1st June) will feature the ‘BIG WEEKEND’, a two day celebration of food through words, sounds, cultures, ideas and tastings. For tickets and the full programme of events, head to https://events.bl.uk/whats-on/food-season.

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This Week in London – Coronations at Westminster Abbey; tulips at Hampton Court; St Bartholomew at The National Gallery; and, Food Season at the British Library…

by exploringlondon

• A new exhibition exploring the 1,000-year history of coronations at Westminster Abbey has opened in the abbey’s medieval chapter house. The exhibition, which has opened ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on 6th May, draws on historic illustrations and archive photography to explore the elements of the coronation service including the oath-taking, anointing, investing and crowning and takes a closer look any some of key artefacts present in the ceremony including the Coronation Chair. The exhibition, which is free with admission to the abbey and which runs until the end of September, is part of a season of events celebrating the coronation including themed late evenings, family activities and special afternoon teas at the Cellarium Café. Meanwhile, the abbey has also announced that visitors will be able to view the ‘Coronation Theatre’ – the special area which will be built for the historic occasion, from the Abbey’s North and South Transepts – following the coronation. Tickets for the special viewing – which will include the chance to see key elements from the coronation service including the Coronation Chair still in position on the Cosmati Pavement – can be purchased for timed slots between 8th and 13th May. For more on the abbey’s events surrounding the coronation, see www.westminster-abbey.org/events.

Tulips at Hampton Court Palace in 2021. PICTURE: Derek Winterburn (licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0)

• Hampton Court Palace bursts into colour from Friday with its annual Tulip Festival. More than 110,000 bulbs have been planted to creat dramatic displays in the formal gardens and cobbled courtyards, among them a selection of heirloom bulbs on display in the Lower Orangery Garden which presents visitors with the chance to see tulips as they would have looked during the time of King William III and Queen Mary II, soon after the flowers were first introduced to Britain. Thanks to a special relationship with Netherlands-based Hortus Bulborum, the bulbs on display include Sylvestris (1595) and Rubella Broken (1700) as well as the Orange King (1903) and Queen of the Night (1940). Other highlights of the festival include 3,000 wine-toned tulips, including the merlot variety, flowing down from the steps and parapet of the Wine Fountain, as well as a floral fantasy in the palace’s courtyards in which tulips such as Raspberry Ripple, Apricot Emperor and Purple Prince flow out of wheelbarrows, barrels and a horse cart, and a free-style tulip planting in the Kitchen Garden inspired by Van Gogh’s 1883 painting, Bulb Fields. Runs until 1st May. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/tulip-festival/.

Bernardo Cavallino (1616 ‑ 1656?), Saint Bartholomew (about 1640-1645), oil on canvas H x W: 176 x 125.5 cm; The National Gallery, London. Bought with the support of the American Friends of the National Gallery, 2023
PICTURE: © The National Gallery, London

• The recently acquired Bernardo Cavallino work, Saint Bartholomew has gone on show at The National Gallery. The painting, which dates from 1640-45 and which was last exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1993, is being displayed alongside other 17th century works by artists such as Caravaggio, Artemisia and Orazio Gentileschi, Guercino, Reni and Ribera in the Hans and Julia Rausing Room (Room 32). The National Gallery has one other work by Cavallino – Christ driving the Traders from the Temple – but his depiction of Saint Bartholomew is considered one of his most splendid works. Admission is free. For more, see nationalgallery.org.uk.

• Featuring everything from a celebration of African Caribbean takeaways to a “deep-dive” into the issues surrounding food production and access, Food Season kicks off at the British Library Monday. Highlights include a discussion of the sandwich by food writers Nigella Lawson, Jonathan Nunn and Rebecca May Johnson, a day-long celebration of African Caribbean cuisine featuring chefs and broadcasters Jimi Famurewa, Fatmata Binta and Andi Oliver, and, an exploration of the big challenges in food, land use and food production featuring author Henry Dimbleby alongside Dr Tara Garnett, Nick Saltmarsh, Abby Allen and Dimitri Houtart. Runs until 7th June. Admission charges apply. For the full programme, see www.bl.uk/events/food-season.

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