London Food Tour - Covent Garden with Celia Brooks

On a chilly and bleak London morning I huddled outside of Covent Garden tube station with a small squad of hungry strangers. We'd all be invited to try out Celia Brooks's new food tour of the area, and fortunately she knows how to get a group giddy and chatting right from the start.

Once introductions were made she simply opened a box procured across the road from legendary macaron-maker Ladurée, and the brilliantly coloured discs instantly lit up the atmosphere. Pistachio, black currant, salted caramel... there wasn't a wrong choice to be made and the box was soon empty.

Celia is a cook, food writer, and guide of London gastrotours around Portobello Road, Marylebone, and now, Covent Garden. Over several hours she led us to some top quality shops, market stalls, and cafés where we tasted everything from English cheese to Venezuelan corn cakes to Indian street snacks. She offers nuggets of historical trivia along the way, and her love for food is clear when she introduces each of the producers on the tour.

Our first stop was for cheese, glorious cheese....