Sterling Bank powers West Africa’s largest food festival

STERLING Bank has promised to light up Lagos this festive season as it brings together the best of African and international cuisine and mixology at the critically acclaimed #EatDrinkFestival. The new two-day event format has been scheduled for December 26th & 27th at the Lekki Coliseum from 12pm to 8pm daily.

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Presented in partnership with Eat.Drink.Lagos, the festival features live demonstrations from top chefs and mixologists as well as pop up shops from a selection of the city’s finest food vendors.

The event which started out in 2014 to showcase local culinary enthusiasts has become the favourite curation of food and drinks in West Africa. Chief Marketing Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr Ibidapo Martins, said the goal of the festival is to create an unmatched culinary experience of Lagos’ best foods and drink brands, remarking that the bank’s decision to deliver the event was to ensure that residents in Lagos and its environs enjoyed the best flavours the city had to offer during the festive season.

Folayemi Agusto, co-founder, Eat.Drink.Lagos said the festival was created as a platform for local food vendors to connect with their customers without the limitation of their physical locations.

“There were a number of food vendors from which I ordered lunch to my office daily, but many people didn’t know about them. The idea we had was to give these vendors a platform to meet their customers in person without having to own a storefront because the cost of one is prohibitive for many of these small businesses.

“We expanded this year’s edition to a two-day format to accommodate a wider selection of exhibitors and have also put plans in place to make the experience hassle free for all our guests”, Folayemi enthused.??

The festival team also disclosed that a careful vendor selection process was put in place to ensure that the experience was unique for each attendee regardless of dietary restrictions, allergies or cravings.??

Beyond the vendors, the fifth edition will showcase over a dozen unique events for guests looking for an experience that is more intimate and immersive. These experiences include lunch and dinner pop-ups by top local and international culinary talent, bar battles, spirit tastings, live demonstrations, cocktail master classes, Sterling VIP lounge among others.??

The Culinary Main Stage at #EatDrinkFestival will be making a return this year and it will feature many exciting live demonstrations and cooking challenges. New this year is the Drinks Theatre which will feature a series of engaging panels and a demonstration of popular libations.

This section of the event is 18+ only.??The festival promises to give guests the opportunity to experience the finest foods and drinks from local culinary talent including The Fish Lady, Keto.ng, Toasties, Mogee Magic, Buka2go, Rhodes BBQ & Smokehouse, Ette’s Barbeque, Zee3hree BBQ Co., Lawla’s Snow Cones, Barcode Cocktails, Obi Bakes It, and Rum & Passion.??

Other confirmed food and drink vendors at the festival include The Healthy Salad Company, Smoothie Express, Segi’s Zobo, Sari Herbal Living, LoshesChocolate, El Padrino, Chef SiÀ,The AJs, Eventi Cocktails, La Taverna, Kewa’s Kitchen, Urban Fuxion, Johnny Rockets and Smigz Mobile Bar among many others.

Over 20,000 attendees are expected to attend this year’s edition of the #EatDrinkFestival.