Glamour, cuisine on display at 2024 GTCO food festival

The 7th edition of the GTCO Food and Drink Festival by Guaranty Trust Holding Company was held in Lagos during the weekend.

This culinary extravaganza, known for nurturing African food businesses, commenced on April 26. The festival concluded on April 28 after three days of indulging in delicious flavours.

Held at Plot 1 Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos, the festival has become a hub for both established and emerging culinary entrepreneurs.

This year’s edition, tagged ‘A Celebration of Authentic Flavours’, witnessed 12 master classes led by international chefs, including Uche Annie Ugoka, Bunny Young, Gale Gand, Aldo Zilli, and Robin McBride.

Others are Bo and Dylan, Lisa Brooks, Maunika Gowardhan, Angel Vazquez, Christophe Novelli, Tom Parker, and Ryan Mitchell.

The festival also features live cooking demonstrations, tasting sessions, and free exhibition stalls for 209 small businesses, fostering a vibrant marketplace for food enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.

Segun Agbaje, the group chief executive of GTCO, reaffirmed the festival’s commitment to supporting small food businesses in Nigeria.

“We hope to consistently create memorable moments for everyone, whilst providing a free, vibrant, and commercially viable platform for small food businesses in Nigeria to grow and thrive,” he said.

Gale Gand, the Chicago-based pastry chef, also expressed her excitement about the festival, highlighting its size and the diversity of vendors.

‘This is a really large food and drink festival. And the fact that you have vendors here, that is a little different from some of the ones I do in the states,” she said.

Established in 2016, the GTCO Food & Drink Festival continues to showcase the diverse angles of the food industry, connecting businesses with a cosmopolitan audience of food enthusiasts.