Taco Week

This week London is celebrating the flavours of Mexico with a Taco Festival.  The Tacover is back in London with Signature Brew, which is hosting a whopping taco festival with 10 sizzling vendors: Los Gordos, Proper Tacos, Birria Taco, Mex Club, Carne Mexican Street Food, Nopalito, Death By Tacos, Pretty Boy Tacos, Masa Tacos and Pako Tacos are all on the line-up.

Between snacks, enjoy DJ sets, competitions, raffles, brews from the venue’s taproom and a specialist margarita bar serving up tequila into the early hours.   

Table Talk: The origins of the taco probably date from the 18th century and the silver mines in Mexico, because in those mines the word “taco” referred to the little charges they would use to excavate the ore. These were pieces of paper that they would wrap around gunpowder and insert into the holes they carved in the rock face. When you think about it, a chicken taquito with a good hot sauce is really a lot like a stick of dynamite. The first references to the taco in any sort of archive or dictionary come from the end of the 19th century. And one of the first types of tacos described is called tacos de minero—miner’s tacos. So the taco is not necessarily this age-old cultural expression; it’s not a food that goes back to time immemorial.

 Why not try this great recipe Birria Taco. Birria is a deeply flavoured, soupy stew from Jalisco in western Mexico. It's traditionally made with goat meat, although nowadays beef is widely used. The meat is cooked in an adobo, a sauce made with chillies, spices and vinegar. The birria can be eaten in a bowl like a soup, or in tacos or quesadillas. Recipe here.

While we are on the subject of festivals… it is National Doughnut week, where businesses including bakers, coffee shops, and offices take part and sell lots of delicious doughnuts to raise funds for The Children’s Trust. More details if you want to take part are here.