Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley and Bocca di Lupo are among the restaurants who have signed up to support the first London Restaurant Festival this autumn.
Since news of the festival broke in March, more than 400 restaurants have registered their interest on the festival`s website to support the event, which will run from October 8 to 13.
The festival, created by Evening Standard restaurant critic Fay Maschler and broadcaster Simon Davis, will be a celebration of the diversity in the London restaurant scene and hopes to boost the profile of all the establishments involved and ultimately drive more customers into them.
Wareing said the event was a `great idea`. "We offer some of the best cuisine in the world from the most diverse range of restaurants. In this current climate what a great idea, a celebration of our existing restaurants and a reminder of how unique London really is. Food is fun and for six days in October everyone can see just how much," he said.
The festival is being supported by VisitLondon and Mayor Boris Johnson and will focus on 12 specific events this year, including a Festival Menu programme, with plans to build that up to 50 over the next three years.
Jacob Kenedy of Bocca di Lupo said: "The activities and events are imaginative, fun and intelligent. The festival may well provide a forum for restaurateurs to showcase and discuss their offerings, but will more importantly give customers a great way to get involved in our thriving foodie scene. We Brits spend more than enough time bemoaning the worse aspects of cuisine in this country – here at last is a chance for us to celebrate the highlights instead.”
The festival will open at Quaglino`s on October 7. For more information on how to get involved visit www.londonrestaurantfestival.com.
London restaurants urged to support new festival