The chefs are ready, the stalls are busily being prepared, and the volunteers are chomping at the bit – all that’s needed now to get the fifth annual Gefiltefest London Jewish Food Festival up and running is you!

Gefiltefest is a one-day extravaganza of Jewish culture and food that is open to all faiths and communities, and there are a number of special events to celebrate its fifth anniversary.

Claudia Roden, doyen of Jewish cooking, will be discussing her newly-relaunched book The Jewish Food of Italy while preparing dishes from it, and at 2pm on the day will be the ceremonial cutting of the festival’s birthday cake, as well as the launch of The Gefiltest Cookbook, full of recipes from the world’s best-loved Jewish cooks.

“For the first time this year, we’ve got lots of chefs and cooks coming from abroad,“ says festival manager Claire Berson. “They’ve been contacting us from New York, Prague and Israel saying they’ve heard about the festival and would love to be involved, it’s really great.“

Other highlights include more food stalls than ever (“We can hardly fit them all in,“ laughs Claire), the usual vast array of chefs, cookery demonstrations, talks, tastings, and a full kids’ programme that includes making ice-cream with nitrogen.

  • Gefiltefest is at the London Jewish Cultural Centre, North End Road, Golders Green, on Sunday, June 15 from 10am to 6pm. Details: Gefiltefest.org