World Halal Food Festival returns to London for eighth year

LONDON: The biggest and longest-running halal food festival in the world returns to the UK capital, London, and is to be held on Sept. 23-24, organizers have announced.

Now in its eighth year, the World Halal Food Festival will be held at the London Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Formerly known as the London Halal Food Festival, this year’s celebration of halal cuisine will welcome thousands of halal foodies from across the globe to enjoy international halal food and shopping stalls across the weekend.

“Discover culinary secrets from world-renowned celebrity chefs in live cookery demonstrations at the Tariq Halal Cookery Theatre, live performances by talented artists and captivating acts at the main stage and don’t miss out on the fiery and often hilarious Halal Eat-Off competitions,” Algebra Festivals announced in a statement.

“There’s something for everyone with an expanded Kids Zone, Dessert Zone, VIP Lounge and so much more, this family day out is set to be one for the ages,” it said.

The World Halal Festival announced that British chef and author Nadiya Hussain will be at the Tariq Halal Cookery Theatre for a live cookery demonstration on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. local time.

Hussain’s new book, “Nadiya’s Simple Spices,” was released on Thursday along with her new series of the same name on BBC Two.

“Hosted by Cooking With the Stars’ Shelina Permalloo, watch even more live cookery demos from Ali Rehman, celebrated international food blogger, Omar Foster, runner-up in this year’s MasterChef competition, and the award-winning hit music producer Naughty Boy will be bringing his infamous ‘Naughty Boy Kitchen’ to the World Halal Food Festival for the first time ever,” Algebra Festivals said.

The World Halal Food Festival is an inclusive event that caters to everyone — “for those who only eat halal and for those who eat only great food.”

Organized and managed by Algebra Festivals, the team are responsible for the largest and most notable Muslim consumer events in the world, including the London Muslim Shopping Festival at ExCel London and the London Eid Festival at Westfield London, attracting hundreds of thousands of guests throughout the year.

The World Halal Food Festival also announced the London Metropolitan Police as their community partner, Western Union and the British Islamic Trade Association as co-partners and Tariq Halal Meats as their official title sponsor.

Waleed Jahangir, managing director at Algebra Festivals, said: “We’re excited to be returning to the iconic London Stadium, right in the heart of the community for the world’s biggest halal food event of the year.

“The World Halal Food Festival is an opportunity for members of all communities to come and experience the flavours of the world all under one roof with family and friends.”

Graham Gilmore, CEO of London Stadium, said: “We are delighted to welcome back this incredible food festival for its third year at London Stadium. Our venue is an ideal fit for this event, which brings together the food, music and culture of the Muslim community for all to enjoy in the heart of East London.”