St Martin's Courtyard - Food and Flowers Festival 2013

A Sister TV production on behalf of St Martin's Courtyard TV. St Martin's Courtyard hosted the Food and Flowers Festival on Saturday 13 July 2013. With temperatures hitting over 30 degrees in the capital, St Martin's Courtyard paid tribute to the floral heritage of Covent Garden with a festival celebrating food and flowers. Between noon and 5pm, six international restaurants served unique, exclusively created dishes and drinks with a floral theme, al fresco in the courtyard. Jamie's Italian spit roasted a whole lamb al fresco, accompanied by rose jelly, floral breads and floral infused cocktails. Suda Thai served 'Chor-muang', steamed Thai dumplings handcrafted into a flower shape, from a Bangkok style street food cart in the courtyard as well as cocktails garnished with flowers. Cantina Laredo, the modern Mexican in Covent Garden brought the fiesta to St Martin's Courtyard. Their pop-up bar served 2,000 free Casa Ambar Hibiscus Margaritas. This fragrant floral concoction was made using home-made syrup infused with tropical hibiscus flower, boutique Casa Ambar Blanco 100% Blue Agave tequila, Cointreau and freshly squeezed lime. Cantina Laredo served a specially created Squash Blossom dish (also known as zucchini flower) stuffed with feta cheese and fresh herbs. Italian enoteca Dalla Terra hosted floral notes wine tastings throughout the day which focused on how floral notes influence the palate, the popularity and food choice. For something different, Melvita's Bee Products including honeys, royal jelly and pollen were available to sample and Dishoom's Bombay bar in the courtyard was serving rose and cardamom lassis and Bollybellinis made with rose syrup. Those with a sweet tooth indulged in floral cupcakes from Bill's market barrow and festivalgoers cooled down with free floral flavoured ice creams. The courtyard was in full bloom dressed with a fabulous floral installation and The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers created a spectacular banquet table with a full spread made entirely from flowers. Visitors tried their hand at floral design, creating decorative cupcakes from flowers to take home. Live music came courtesy of vintage singing duo Verity and Violet, as well as the Hackney Colliery Band, a nine-piece big brass band. Covent Garden was traditionally the home of the Flower Market (made famous by Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady) and is now a renowned foodie destination. St Martin's Courtyard is shopping and dining destination in the heart of Covent Garden, a must-visit for shopping, style and restaurants.