The iconic Spanish food battle will travel abroad and give Brits a chance to cover themselves in tomatoes
40,000 people throwing tomatoes at each other, playing and bathing in the tomato juice while streets are covered in red. That is the iconic festival of La Tomatina that takes place every year in the Spanish town of Buñol, near Valencia.
And this year the food craze is crossing borders, right to the centre of the UK’s capital. Spanish restaurant Aqua Nueva, located on the Carnaby Street in Soho, will organise the feast on a smaller scale for all Londoners to get a taste of what once started as an act of rage and turned into a festival of joyous food fights.
The restaurant will start the tomato-themed evening with a menu rich in, you guessed it, tomatoes. After finishing three courses that start with aqua nueva house gazpacho, customers will be asked to put on ponchos and walk to nearby Downstairs at Carousel in Marylebone. There they will have the unique opportunity to exercise their tomato throwing skills without the need to travel to Spain.
To keep some level of safety and to avoid injuries, some rules will apply. Attendees will be asked to smash the tomatoes in their hands before throwing them and to aim only below shoulders.
The restaurant also recommends wearing old clothes so that the event doesn’t take its toll. Comfortable shoes will be handy as well.
If you think throwing away tonnes of fruit is not the most economic idea, the restaurant has an answer for you.
“For the event, we’re using ugly and unloved tomatoes, from The Tomato Stall, which may have otherwise gone to waste. When the event ends we’ll donate the tomatoes to Veolia and Anaerobic Digestion plant,” the restaurant said.
With the tickets starting at £49 per guest, the event will take place this Saturday from 12.30 pm to 4 pm. You can book your spot here.
