Participate

In order to be considered for participation, venues are required to meet the following Eligibility Criteria:

• Be an existing full service or take-out/counter service restaurant
• Possess a valid Health Inspection PASS
• Fill in the required application form
• Choose to participate in either the “Classic” (prix-fix, multi-course, dine-in menus) or “Express” (counter-service/take-out only) festival format
• Create a unique (special to) Londonlicious menu/item(s), featuring local ingredients to highlight our local agricultural and artisanal partners – you will be REQUIRED to list this local support directly on your menus

Once you submit your application, Growing Chefs! Ontario will review it for accuracy, approve it, and then you will receive a follow-up email to confirm your participation, and receive your invoice for payment. Payment is due upon receipt, and required IN FULL, prior to the start of the festival.

• Festival Dates: Friday, July 24 – Sunday, August 16, 2026
• Registration is NOW LIVE: until festival is FULL; applications considered on a rolling basis, first come first served. 
• Fill in the required application form
• Dues:
  “CLASSIC” = $500 per venue, plus 1 x “Londonlicious Meal for Two” gift certificates per venue – for marketing purposes (**we have decreased this requirement, from x2 GC’s previously required)
  • • NOTE: for multiple venues owned/operated by the same person/company, you will qualify for a reduced rate of $400 per venue.
      • • 1 venue = $500
        • 2 venues = $800
        • 3 venues $1200, etc.
    • “EXPRESS” = $250 per venue, plus 1 x “Londonlicious Meal for Two” gift certificates per venue
    • FIRST TIME “Express” participant: $100 trial offer! Does this work for you/your business? Try it.
• Deadline: Confirmation, Payment and final Menus must be submitted by Friday, July 3, 2026.
  • Menu Submissions: MUST be received in WORD/simple text format, or it will not be accepted; please do not submit your menus in PDF or JPEG format.
• Menu Launch: Approximately one week prior to the launch of the Festival; if we have not received your menu by July 3rd, your menu will be delayed in going ‘live’ on the website.

• ONE lead contact representative per venue, in order to keep communication clear and concise.
• If your venue has/done something unique, let us know! We would love to share your original ideas with the city! (*Eg: your entire menu is Gluten-Free!)
• Please send us current photos of your unique Londonlicious menu that we can use in our marketing efforts. We are working on capturing our own content from participating restaurants, but in the meantime, we’d love to share yours! Help us advertise for YOU!

The main communication channel from our team is via email – if you have an alternate preference – let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate. You can expect to receive email blasts throughout the festival with updates, reminders and check-ins.

Your “unique to Londonlicious” feature prix-fix menu may consist of appetizer(s), main entree(s), and/or dessert(s), and MUST feature local ingredients.

For a quick list of “local” farmers, producers or suppliers we know, click here!

Your “Londonlicious” menu offerings can be priced separately or can be offered as two-or-three course selections to allow customers to choose how many courses they would like.

Please set your menu prices based on what works best for you and your venue, and still reflects ‘value’ to each of you. We encourage offering a range of price points to meet the diverse preferences of your customers.

When submitting: menus MUST be received in simple text format, or it will not be accepted. The Londonlicious website is HTML / text format only for menus so no design is required at this stage.

Due to our charitable status, we are able to access nonprofit rates for community marketing; thereby multiplying our purchasing power on your behalf! For your $500 investment, you will share in an estimated value of over $50,000 in marketing spend; including (but not limited to) the following:

Marketing: City-wide promotion of the Londonlicious festival, reaching countless Londoners, via:

• Digital and ‘live’ Radio commercial promotion
• Geo-targeted digital marketing
• London City transit ads
• CTV on-air, live segments
• Multiple print ads across many media outlets

If you have ideas on how to further promote the festival, please reach out to us!

Social Media: We have a combined reach between our Londonlicious and Growing Chefs! Ontario social medial channels of:

• Facebook: 21,000+ followers
• Instagram: 15,000+ followers
• You will receive equal social media coverage for all paid participants on our FEED
  • 1 announcement post per venue
  • Re-shares of your restaurant account content to our stories (YOU MUST TAG OUR ACCOUNT to guarantee we see it, to share it!)
• Access to Londonlicious content creation, including reels, potential influencer visits and more! Reach out and we would love to collaborate with you and create promotional content .

**We are here to help you amplify your presence to our local community and share your stories within our city! We need your help to do this!

Community: Since acquiring Londonlicious, Growing Chefs! Ontario is rebuilding the festival to promote community over competition within our local hospitality sector. Between 35-60 local venues join us for each festival, and we hope to continue to grow! Join other involved restaurant owners and their teams, with networking opportunities like our festival launch parties… details to come…

Growing Chefs! Ontario is officially FeastOn certified! To align with the values of our organization, we are requiring all participating Londonlicious Restaurants to feature a minimum of one local ingredient and highlight the Grower/Producer/Supplier, directly on your printed menu(s). When you see the FeastOn badge, you’re not just dining out —you’re supporting local farmers and producers. This is exactly what we love to see: local restaurants supporting local farmers. It’s win/win; Ontario Grown; Chef Approved! 

As we continue to realign the values of the Londonlicious Festival, we hope to continue to build community by proudly plating with local Ontario ingredients. 

FeastOn is a certification program run by the Culinary Tourism Alliance that recognizes restaurants and food service providers committed to sourcing and celebrating locally grown food and drink. It helps consumers identify and support businesses that prioritize local, sustainable ingredients and celebrate Ontario’s culinary identity. Growing Chefs! Ontario is FeastOn Certified and these are the values we are excited to expand on with the Festival! To learn more about FeastOn, visit their website. 

These changes are in support of the Ontario 2025 Local Food Report, to support organizations and communities undertaking food supply chain initiatives to increase Ontario-grown food for Ontarians. It will also help us establish stats around the Festival to be able to show true economic impact and growth. Learn more about Grow Ontario: a provincial agri-food strategy!

TO REVIEW OUR “LOCAL” SUPPLIER MAP – CLICK HERE! Questions about local suppliers? Want to be added to our map? Have a suggestion? Just reach out and ask!

We are running this festival to benefit and support YOU! If you have ideas for growing and building this Festival, and you would like to have your voice heard around our table ~ join our Steering Committee! Email Executive Administrator, Jen Wyant (jen@growingchefsontario.ca), to start the conversation and help make decisions that benefit YOU and your teams.

Check out our Londonlicious Impact Report to learn all about us and what we have achieved so far!

Western Fair District is bringing back The London Wine and Food Show concept, reimagined as London Taste Experience – or Taste Ex! FOR OVER 15 YEARS, THE LONDON WINE & FOOD SHOW, NOW TASTE EX™, HAS BEEN ONE OF ONTARIO’S PREMIER EVENTS. THE SHOW SAMPLES SOME OF THE BEST WINES, BEERS, SPIRITS, CIDERS AND CUISINE OUR REGION HAS TO OFFER. IT IS A MUST-ATTEND EVENT.

As a Londonlicious 2026 confirmed participant, you are eligible to receive $500 off the registration fee to become a vendor at Taste Ex! Londonlicious will have its own, separate area, highlighting this local food festival. Plus, by registering to be a vendor at Taste Ex, it means your registration into Londonlicious is essentially FREE!!!

FIND OUT MORE about becoming an exhibitor, HERE!