We always welcome Time Out's Love London Awards as it's a great way to keep our eye on local's picks and discover new places across the vast city that is London. 2014 was no exception. Congratulations to those local's pick below as well as some of our personal favourites from our times of living across different places in London. 

Some of our favourites local's pick
Bethnal Green (E2): Columbia Road Flower Market
Bethnal Green (E2):  Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium
Clapton (E5): Chatsworth Road Market
Islington (N1): Camden Passage Market
Crystal Palace (SE19): Crystal Palace Food Market

West Norwood (SE27);  Beamish & McGlue
Hackney (E8): Broadway Bookshop
Brixton (SW9): Federation Coffee
Fulham (SW6): Parson's Nose
Clapton (E5):  Cooper and Wolf
South Kensington (SW7): V&A Museum Cafe
South Kensington (SW7): Fernandez & Wells
Notting Hill (W10): Lisboa Pâtisserie
Nottinghill (W10): Books for Cooks
East Dulwich (SE22); The Cheese Block
Bermondsey (SE1): Monmouth Coffee Company
Bermondsey (SE1): Maltby Street Market

We have featured Ruth Barry quite a few times on London Food Essentials because we can't get enough of her delicious bakes and her irresistible line of nut butters, granola, savoury crisps and goods. So we are thrilled to be publishing today our interview with Ruth. In our interview, she talks about the fusion of art and baking and her homage to the Black Isle with bakes that celebrate a very modern simplicity.  READ MORE

Ohhh, baby it's cold outside and the best antidote for the seasonal blues is hot chocolate. Chocolate that is rich, creamy, with the texture of silk. So the promise of Sea Salt hot chocolate was too good to resist when I recently visited Paxton Chocolate, off Brick Lane. This chocolaterie established by Caitlin Paxton in late December 2012 specialises in chocolate thins - refined, delicate and tantalising discs of subtly favoured chocolate. Flavours range from chestnut and vanilla, clementine, lime and lemongrass, raspberry and rose, and one of my favourites, lavender. All thins are produced in small batches and hand finished with a flourish of ingredients or wildly aesthetic eatable transfers. As for the hot chocolate, it was like drinking melted milk chocolate with all the salty notes of one of Paxton's classic thins. The gourmet hot chocolate comes in two more flavours - Earl Grey and Orange and Expresso. 
Paxton Chocolate Boutique, 38 Cheshire Street, E2 6EH.
Hours: Tues- Sat 11.00-17.00; Sun 11.00-17.00

I have a thing for plates - the quirkier the better, the more the merrier, and when humour comes into play - perfection. And so it is hardly surprising that I love the plates of design house, Mira Santo. Spectacularly whimsical and beautifully designed, each one is illustrated by Yasmin Sandyti, the creative force behind this brand. Those pictured were made for the now closed No.35 Restaurant at the Hempel Hotel in London. Each plate features scenes from the kitchen (the preparation of fish stock to the serving of consommé) through to service in the restaurant. Each plate is individually numbered and limited to 50 pieces per plate. Yasmin has also created bespoke china sets for private estates and the Victoria & Albert Museum. For something uniquely different, visit her online store. All pieces are made in a small factory in Stoke-on-Trent.