If you’re heading to Taste of London this weekend

Here are a few random photographs from Taste of London 2013, sponsored by British Airways, yesterday afternoon.  It wasn’t the sunniest afternoon ever in Regents Park, but at least the rain held off!

Here is my top tip.  Arrive in time for the opening and then head immediately for the British Airways Masterclass stand.  NOT the BA lounge, the BA Masterclass stand!

BA is organising 3-4 food and drink tastings each session, held inside a mock-up cabin interior!  One lets you taste the food and drink to be served in First Class on the A380 route to Hong Kong, and another lets you taste the food and drink to be served in First Class going out to Los Angeles on the A380.  Another tasting lets you try different Twinings teas …. that may not be your top choice!

You can sign up immediately – and space is limited as you can see – and then wander back at the appropriate time.  If you sign up for this, do NOT buy too many tokens to buy food elsewhere in the park, because you get quite a bit here and quite a bit more in the BA tent!

(Here are some photos from Flyertalk with the food served at the Masterclass showcasing the Los Angeles food.  I was at the earlier Hong Kong session.)

Mark Tazzioli, who runs BA’s in-flight catering, leads the sessions.  I managed to have a quick word with him about the lounge catering, and he shares the concerns that many others have about the current dip in quality.  He assured me that things were being addressed ….

Once you’ve got your spot booked for the A380 First Class food and drink tasting, you can wander over to the British Airways Executive Club lounge (Silver and Gold BAEC cards only!).

This is the sight you want to see!

As well as copious amounts of alcohol, BA is (ironically) serving genuinely excellent food in the Executive Club tent.  This includes a version of the ‘frozen berries in white chocolate sauce’ dessert made famous by The Ivy and Le Caprice in London.  You will not go hungry here.

BA is also running free hourly wine tastings in the Executive Club tent, allowing you taste 3 red wines, 3 white wines and a dessert wine currently being served in First Class.  These are run by the wine merchants, Bibendum, who supply British Airways, and I did genuinely get the feeling that they are doing their best to supply top quality products.  BA, for example, is one of the few airlines which buys wine en primeur, a year before bottling and many years before drinking.

This is a shot of the set up for the wine tasting.  Someone in the tent can take your name for one of the sessions.

I apologise for the rather short report, but my head is a little fuzzy (!) and it is better to get this out on Friday morning than wait until Saturday when many people will already have gone!  Have fun if you are down there this weekend.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.