GTCO Food and Drinks Festival begins in Lagos (PHOTOS)

On Saturday, the sixth edition of the GTCO Food and Drinks Festival kicked off at the GTCentre in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event brings together food lovers and experts alike, celebrating culinary excellence and beverage innovation.

The food festival offers a variety of meals from street food to drinks, local Nigerian cuisines and continental dishes.

Aiming to enhance and maintain an unforgettable experience this year, GTCO, at an event announcing the sixth edition of the festival, said that highlights would include masterclasses by award-winning chefs, food entrepreneurs and a food content creator.

This year, the masterclasses will include, among others, Hassan-Odukale, who will talk about the Food Business; Jessica Craig – The Art of the Cake; August Dewindt – Creating Food Content; Francesco Mazzei – Classic Italian cuisine and much more.

The list covers the areas of food and restaurant business, baking and food content creation.

Masterclass schedule

Ire Hassan Odulake

Hassan Odulake, who will host the masterclass on “food business”, is a Nigerian-born hospitality and Food entrepreneur.

Along with chef Jeremy Chan, Hassan is the founder of the 2 Michelin star London restaurant called Ikoyi in the UK.

The restaurant, one of London’s hottest restaurants in the UK, was ranked 49th in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022.

Jessica Craig

Jessica Craig, Executive Pastry Chef, will host a master class on The Art of Pastry.

Jessica, Executive Pastry Chef at Café Deux and Cupped Desserts, has over 20 years of professional experience.

He gained most of his experience with Italian, Mediterranean, French and American cuisine and earned degrees in culinary arts and hospitality management from the New York Institute of Technology.

August Dewindt

New York City-based food blogger August Dewindt is a foodie whose passion for cooking began at an early age.

He quit a 9-5 job to start his food businesses, including Kinky’s Dessert Bar, John’s Juice, and Fluffy’s NYC, which have been featured in popular publications like the NY Post and Time Out.

August, who was about to host a master class on Food content creation during the pandemic, took her talents to TikTok and quickly became a hit, amassing over 3.9 million followers.

Francesco Mazzei

Born in Calabria, Francesco Mazzei is one of Italy’s great chefs. Francesco was to lead a master class on classic Italian cooking.

Francesco, Chef Patron of Sartoria (a London restaurant), has long been one of London’s best chefs.

Francesco Mazzei opened restaurants for others around the world before building his own.

Known for its beautifully prepared dishes with excellent flavors, it has long been the champion of its regional specialties.

Some of the highlights of the first day include a display of food and beverages from local Nigerian vendors.

Holiday Week

The Food and Drinks Festival 2023 showcases the best food and drink on offer from around the world, with a wide range of cuisine and drinks to suit all tastes.

Attendees will be able to taste delicious dishes and learn from world-class chefs.

In addition to food and beverage tastings, the festival will feature live cooking demonstrations, interactive workshops and informative talks on a variety of food and beverage topics. Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase their favorite products at the festival fair.

Organizers say they have increased its capacity creating more opportunities for more businesses and expanded the much-coveted vendor stalls from 142 to 204.

This, they say, gave even the most innovative business owners the opportunity to showcase their businesses to the more than 250,000 foodies in attendance, as well as engage with their customer base and learn from a gathering of other forward-thinking food entrepreneurs.

The event will feature three top African DJs, setting the stage for a weekend of celebration, food, drink and togetherness.

The festival, which has already started, will continue until Monday.

See photos below.