Taste Festivals launched in 2004 with the first Taste of London, which took place at
Somerset House. The London event was moved to
Regent's Park in 2005, where it has remained since. The show was named Best Consumer Show at the 2012 Exhibition News Awards. Taste of Edinburgh was first run in 2007, initially at
The Meadows, but after two years moved to
Inverleith Park. In 2012, the festival was called off at late notice following high levels of rainfall in the days prior to the event making the site unsafe for the expected number of visitors. Initially the plans were to continue with the event despite the weather. As of 2012, there have been Taste festivals held in fifteen cities around the world, the restaurants at the 2012 Taste of London held a combined 11 Michelin stars. and expanded in 2008 to add a second South African event with Taste of Cape Town, In 2013, Taste Festivals were acquired by
IMG, and would later be acquired by MARI in 2025. Hong Kong was added to the list of Taste Festivals in 2016. The festivals have been held at the Central Harbourfront, and outdoor space with the iconic city skyline as the backdrop. In 2018, the Taste of Hong Kong festival welcomed approximately 24,000
foodie enthusiasts over the 4 days and continues to grow in popularity.
The Big Feastival Taste Festivals began running the
Jamie Oliver backed Big Feastival in 2011, a combination event featuring both restaurants and musical artists. The initial plan was to host the event in
Victoria Park during 2012 to coincide with the
2012 Summer Olympics, however due to branding restrictions this plan was cancelled. The event instead was arranged to take place at the farm of musician
Alex James in Oxfordshire, who had previously hosted a similar festival in 2011 which resulted in the event's organisers going out of business due to the losses involved. In 2013, The Big Feastival was acquired by IMG alongside Taste Festivals. ==List of Taste Festivals==