Raclettes on roasties, blow-torched booze, and flaming donuts: Eating with Tod takes us behind the scenes at his new Christmas market

Like many things that get serious hype, Christmas markets can often be underwhelming, trudging from overcrowded, overpriced stall to stall, slightly too hot in all your layers, as the same tunes blast on a loop over an obnoxiously loud speaker. Tod’s Festive Feast is changing that up.

Maybe it’s the Topjaw-ification of London’s dining scene - and London’s foodies too, come to that - but Tod, the friendly face behind the nationwide sensation Eating with Tod, has curated possibly the best Christmas market (vis a vis food) in London.

No nonsense, minimal decoration, no gimmicks, this Christmas market is all about brining London’s best independent makers and bakers into one small square. Imagine if someone took all your Instagram saved locations and brought them all to life in one location, in a series of classic, cute chalets. Dreamy.

What's it like?

Speaking to Shortlist about the market, Tod explained why he decided to create this market and why it’s worth a visit.

“In most markets, you get the same old spiral potato that you’ve paid about £8 for - overpriced food which isn’t great. We wanted to reinvent the wheel and get proper chefs, proper restaurants, proper food and do Christmas markets in a new way. A lot of markets become less about people and more about profit. What we’ve tried to do is recreate the Christmas market and put a more chef-y spin on it.”

Where is it?

Located at Here at Outernet - literally next door to Tottenham Court Road station (the non-exclusively-Lizzie line entrance), Tod’s Festive Feast has vendors like: Bread Ahead - know for their unmissable donuts, Roll Boys - famously the best buns in London, Truffle Burger, Ruben's Ruebens, Truffle Burger, Jurkish, and more.

Surprisingly, the market was only three months in the making, but they still managed to cinch that coveted central spot, which was ideal in two ways.

“We don’t have music, we don’t have live acts," stresses Tom.

"It’s a place you come to to have food, to try something new and then go back to your shopping - or even the office after lunch.”

It’s like someone brought together the best independent foodie hotspots across every London borough and created a mini version all in one place.

However, there’s a more sentimental reason behind the spot too.

“I used to work just round the corner,” Tod explained.

“My first ever job was on Goodge Street and I walked past this station every morning, so when this site came up, it was a game changer. It reminded me of my journey coming to London - starting out in construction, then being able to work in the food world, and now to have a festival, here with my name across it, it’s surreal.”

The unmissables

Honestly, one of the biggest selling points about this market is that whichever stand you go to, you can’t lose. It’s more about finding whatever floats your boat - or in this case tickles your Tupperware.

It feels criminal to be in such close proximity to Rueben’s Reuben’s, so that would be firmly on our unmissables list. We were salivating over most things, but Bread Ahead’s Creme Brulee donut (which they actually light on fire to caramalise the sugar) is a huge hit and tastes like all your best bonfire memories in a sweet dough. Plus, it’s basically illegal to head to any Christmas market and not sip on some mulled wine. At Tod’s Festive Feast, you’ll find the iconic Feuerzangenbowle, basically mulled wine’s cousin with a sugar coated orange garnish which gets - you might have guessed it - set on fire. All the flair of an xmas pud with the deliciousness from a 70% mulled rum cocktail.

The verdict

Delicious.

That is all.

No, in all seriousness — or as serious as you can be about a Christmas market — it's the best tasting one we've been to. If you're in Central and looking for a cosy, festive foodie spot, this is definitely a must visit. If you're looking to the traditional Christmas experience — ice rinks, carols, fake snow, pop-up cinema showing Home Alone on a loop — this isn't the one for you. Good — more delicious treats for us. It's proper good food, served up with a festive twist.

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