If you're reading this, you won't need reminding just how incredible London's food scene is. Brimming with talent, from fresh new faces to industry stalwarts, our restaurants are world leading – which is something we should celebrate.

Enter London Restaurant Festival, an annual event that takes place throughout October, showcasing the very best of what our world-class dining scene has to offer.

But this is a food festival with a difference: it takes place in the restaurants themselves, which are being given over to special offers and events including LRF's legendary Gourmet Odysseys, Restaurant Hopping Tours and Meet The Chef experiences.

We've had a sneak peek, and we can safely say the festival is going to be better than ever. There's a whole host of new experiences on offer, like Restaurant Recipes, which give you the chance to learn how to cook some of London's most celebrated restaurant dishes at leading cookery schools, followed by dinner in the restaurant that evening. Launching the series will be Michel Roux Jr and Masterchef Professionals winner Steve Grove, who'll be cooking up some of Le Gavroche's most popular dishes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic establishment.

Foodism's top picks

Learn to cook one of Le Gavroche's signature dishes with Michel Roux Jr, before having dinner with the vaunted chef at his iconic restaurant.
Restaurant-hopping tours, including one of Devonshire Square –sponsored by foodism, no less – that takes you around Pitt Cue Co, Mac & Wild and Cinnamon Kitchen.

The Ultimate Gastronomic Weekend, with a Champagne Gourmet Odyssey, a four-course meal at Benares, and a night at the five-star Andaz Hotel on Liverpool Street.

One-off tasting menus at some of our favourite restaurants, including Tozi, Barrafina, HKK and more.

Elsewhere, the Ultimate Gastronomic Weekend has been turbocharged to include an overnight stay at the five-star Andaz Hotel on Liverpool Street, as well as a Gourmet Odyssey experience, and more.

Then, of course, the rest of the lineup is just as stellar as always. Kitchen Table's James Knappet, The Sportman's Phil Howard and José Pizarro will be among those hosting dinners for the American Express Meet The Chef series, while the new Thai Odyssey takes in celebrated Southeast Asian-inspired restaurants incuding Som Saa and Kiln.

And this is just a taste of things to come – last year involved almost 300 restaurants and 100 events. That's a lot of food. Interested? Tickets go on sale on 25 July, so get booking or find more information at londonrestaurantfestival.com.