About Me

Who is The London Foodie?

I am an Italian-Japanese Brazilian who made London home twenty years ago. I am passionate about good food, and travelling to discover new dishes, flavours and cuisines. I work for an investment bank in the City of London by day, and scour the eateries and watering-holes of the capital as The London Foodie by night. Just as mad about wine, I also hold an Advanced Certificate from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). I have been writing as The London Foodie since 2009, and feature among Wikio's top 20 London blogs. 

What is The London Foodie about?

I love eating good food - either at restaurants I review here or dishes I cook at home. I cook regularly and take great pleasure having friends over for a good meal. I have also started the London Cooking Club and host a monthly dinner party with 12 readers of the blog - a mix of regular and new readers. For more information, see the London Cooking Club page.

The London Foodie is a non-commercial site, a hobby gone mad from which I derive no income. I do not advertise on this site, and have no intention to do so in future.

I am happy to review product samples, wines, cookery books, restaurants and hotels by invitation but will make my own mind up on whether to recommend them or not. As a non-commercial site, my integrity comes first.

With a busy day job, I may take a while to get back to you - I read all e-mails and will reply to each one of them, so please do not think you are being ignored if you have not heard from me for some time. I really appreciate receiving your feedback on what I write or your review suggestions,  so please keep them coming. If you would like to get in touch about anything related to this site, you can e-mail me at luizhara@hotmail.com.

Or If you would like to learn more about my food, wine and travel experiences, you can also:

Follow me on Twitter @thelondonfoodie
Or Facebook Page "The London Foodie"

Thanks for dropping by!

Blowing My Own Trumpet

I was invited to write a weekly Food and Drinks Column for Jungle Drums Magazine.  This is a UK magazine that promotes Brazilian culture, food and music in the UK, and also Brazil as a travel destination.

Revista Gula, Brazil's most popular gastronomic magazine, sent Fernanda Meneguetti to participate at one of our London Cooking Club events in Oct 10 "Thai by David Thompson". Fernanda wrote a two-page article about it which was featured in the magazine's 2010 Christmas edition - Sociedade Gastronomica: "Cooking Club is new gastronomic sensation in London, thanks to a Brazilian who opens his house and kitchen to readers of his blog".

The London Foodie was featured among "The Influencer 10: Dining Blogs Men Should Follow" by Ask Men UK.

The London Foodie was interviewed by Cris Flores, presenter of "Passaporte Hoje em Dia" of the Brazilian channel "TV Record" in London, and had the pleasure of introducing her to one of my favourite London Supper Clubs - Fernandez and Leluu. The feature was called "A Gastronomia de Londres" and was organised by Mitsi Goulias, the PR manager for Visit Britain in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The programme was aired in Brazil in October 10 and you can watch it below in Portuguese.
 

The London Foodie was contacted by Natalie Ragus, an Associated Press journalist who asked me to help her write a piece on the London underground food scene. I took her to a few London supper clubs and helped her with the story. Luckily it also coincided with one of our London Cooking Club evenings (run from our home in Islington) when the AP photographer (Alistair Grant) joined us to take some pictures.

The piece was sold to dozens of American, Canadian, Middle Eastern and Asian news sites and other publications. These are some of the links:

MSNBC – Europe Travel
ABC News - Travel
USA Today – Travel - "Underground restaurants are on the rise in London"
Chicago Tribune
Fox News – Food & Drink
Yahoo! News
Miami Herald
Yahoo! Canada News
Sulekha.com – Luiz Hara Travel Trip London Supper Clubs
Edge on the Net
Edge – San Francisco, California
Edge – Dallas, Texas
Edge – Fire Island, New York
Edge – Seattle, Washington – London’s Supper Clubs
Edge – Boston, Massachusetts
The Telegram (Canada)
Ventura Country Star
Journal Pioneer (Canada)
India Times
The Free Library
Daily Life
Simpatico Travel - Canada
The Canadian Press
Daily Courier.ca – Kelowna’s Daily
Taiwan News
The Charleston Gazette
Poten & Partners
The Light House News
The Jakarta Globe – Eating Out Goes Under the Radar in London
The Chronicle Journal - Canada
Newser
Cleveland
Stars and Stripes
San Diego.com
Dayton Daily News
Los Angeles Times
Tulsa World
Carroll County Times
Online Athens
The Star Online
Frederick News Post.com
AOL News
Today Online
Florida Today
North Jersey
Sun Trip
The Herald Press
Food Trippin
Denver Post
Trib – Wyoming News
La Crosse Tribune
The Daily Caller
WellAbroad
Start Exponent – Culpeper, VA
MSN Travel – Canada
Arab Times Online

Interviews and Further Publications

Expatfinder.com – Listen to a Londoner (interview by “Little London Observationist”)

On the London Food Trail...
By Shiva Kumar Thekkepat of "Friday Magazine" (July 10)

Londres Gourmet
By Xavier Bartaburu of Brazilian food magazine "Gosto" (July 10)

Viagens Gastronomicas
By Teresa Frederico of Portuguese Magazine "Rotas & Destinos" (September 10)

Some Guests of Honour
By Fernandez and Leluu Supper Club (October 10)

The Influencer 10: Dining Blogs Men Should Follow (November 10)
By Ask Men UK

Sociedade Gastronomica: "Cooking Club is new gastronomic sensation in London, thanks to a Brazilian who opens his house and kitchen to readers of his blog" (December 10)
By Brazilian magazine "Revista Gula"