any info on this foodfest?

miss_shadow

I thought it was a really nice day out. There were plenty of sample foods there which was nice. Cheese, meats,jams,cake,bread,oils.
We got free sausages,bacon and pudding from Rudd's if you liked their facebook page!

I got a few samples from the restaurants. Venison chimi changa with chocolate sauce and gaocomole 7eu. Smoked duck and a Marshmallow cheesecake for 5eu. All delicious.

The entry fee was way too much for such an event though, I suppose they wanted a target crowd. :rolleyes:

tommy21

Thought I would post up a review here and see who agrees/disagrees!

Sour Taste at TasteFest

This weekend sees Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork transformed into a Mecca for food lovers. The extensive marketing in the run up to this event promised culinary delights of both local and exotic origin, live music and the craic we all long for after a tough working week. My visit yesterday confirmed that on these menu items, the event certainly did not disappoint. Thanks to the good folks in a rapidly expanding city centre pub in Cork aimed at the party animal in all of us, myself and a handful of friends had been given free tickets to attend.

As we approached the entry point on an incredibly sunny Thursday evening, there was a definite buzz in the air. Nestled behind the wrought iron enclosure that separates a unique Cork institution from the rest of the world, a vast collection of tents, stalls, pop-up restaurants and punters awaited our perusal. A beautiful and lively mixture of aromas drifted out to greet us, no small matter to a Cork man who had skipped his dinner specifically for this event. A small queue had formed at the gate, which is always a good sign. It was only then that I noticed the pricing structure for the less fortunate. At peak times (e.g. Saturday and Sunday for instance), entry on the door to the average Corkonian will cost €25! While admittedly this is a very well planned out culinary village, it must surely irk the amateur food critics and the half-starved that such a levy grants nothing more than entry to the venue.

As you enter the park, you are encouraged to buy “Corkers” – a unique selling point of this event is the production of its own currency (1 Corker = 1 Euro). Initially I remarked to my fellow connoisseurs that it was a crazy idea – why go to the bother of printing expensive colourful booklets, when they could simply use Euros as God intended? Still it did create a feeling of uniqueness about the event. I handed over a crisp twenty euro note in exchange for twenty Corkers and began my assault on the moveable feast. The real reason gradually dawned on me and I began to realise it was a stroke of marketing genius. Handing over four Corkers for five tiny prawns (I kid you not), or five Corkers for a bottle of Corona, is far easier than paying with Euro, because it’s like playing monopoly, or gambling online using “play” money. It thus becomes incredibly easy to convince yourself you are not actually parting with real money.

To be fair, not all stalls offered poor value. The Cork Brassiere for instance presented a sizeable portion of calamari for a reasonable enough price, as did another selling gourmet burgers, but on the whole many vendors were found wanting. Probably the worst offender we observed was one local specialist in meat products amending their prices upwards on their usual billboard. Perhaps the earlier news of Greece’s never ending economic woes had rocked the exchange rate of Corker to Euro?

While there is a better value offer at certain periods (e.g two tickets for €30), I think most people would balk at having to pay the two to three times the average minimum wage just to enter a park that is normally free, only to be forced to part with even more for the actual food. If this event allowed free entry, then I think I could accept paying a little over the odds for the wonderful array of food and beverages on offer of which the quality appeared to be unquestionable. After all there is no better time to be supporting Irish businesses. However, I predict this event will not last into the future. The way the pricing set-up is currently, you’d want to be corking mad to fork out the equivalent of a sizeable meal in an actual restaurant for what you get in return, if paying full price.

The above negatives aside, it was still a good day given the free entry, the great company, the buzz in the venue and the food I could afford.

Verdict: Quality food marinated in greed.

Cork Lass

I agree wholeheartedly with Tommy21 and his synopsis of the Foodfest. I went with my OH today and found it wanting indeed. We had free tickets and enjoyed the stroll around but felt it was hugely overpriced. I commented to my OH that Corkers were a way to Mark up prices and can't see why they did this. Surely a nominal entry fee and reduced/fair prices would be better in the long run. Can't see this lasting unless they make it more affordable. Curently it seems to be marketed at a "certain market" but this economic climate dictates lower prices are expected.

eurokev

The reason for Corkers is that the organisers get a percentage of a tents takings. If the corkers were not there companies would obviosly take some of the cash to reduce their liabilty.

I agree an absolutely fantastic event but far far far too overpriced. The entry fee is a joke. That being said everyone I know that went got free entry.

I agree its expensive to run, but surely a higher footfall yielding a higher yield for the stalls would negate the entry fee.
I hope this is something they take into serious consideration for the next event, as not to alienate to numerous friends of mine who would have went and spent good money or corkers,

Faith

I just can't help feeling that they want potential customers to pay for their advertising. Surely all it is is a big venture to get more customers - I.E. Advertising. If that's the case, then prices should be reduced, not inflated with a huge entry fee.

Augustines, for example, do a 6 course tasting menu in their restaurant for €25 or so. That's the peak entry fees alone to the taste fest.

sok2005

After I received some free passes to the Food Fest, I went with my family and I must say we all loved it.

We did spend a small fortune on food and drinks but the atmosphere was really good and it was an experience. Got a good feel for some restaurants that I would like to visit in the future also.

There was a really nice vibe to the place, the clientele consisted mainly of young professionals and well dressed older people. Not a bit of trouble or bother that would undoubtedly occur if the festival was open to the public. The queues would have also been unbearable if it was open season for anyone to just walk in off the street.

Saying that, I don't know how I would have felt if I had to pay €25 per ticket or even €30 for two, it was alot more palatable getting free entry.

parsi

sok2005 wrote: »

After I received some free passes to the Food Fest, I went with my family and I must say we all loved it.

We did spend a small fortune on food and drinks but the atmosphere was really good and it was an experience. Got a good feel for some restaurants that I would like to visit in the future also.

There was a really nice vibe to the place, the clientele consisted mainly of young professionals and well dressed older people. Not a bit of trouble or bother that would undoubtedly occur if the festival was open to the public.

The SPWC went off nice and peacefully despite being open to all and it had a cracking vibe both this year and last year.

We used have "young professionals" renting near us and their behaviour was quite appalling. Nothing like waking up at 3AM just to hear a braying Corkie accent begging their friend to play a bit of ball.

so2005 wrote:

The queues would have also been unbearable if it was open season for anyone to just walk in off the street.

Ah so the good people of Cork wouldn't be allowed to pay just for the food as it would make the queues too long ?

This event seems like an over-sized food court where you're forced to pay in and then pay for your food. I suppose though that the "I'm a fooooodie" bragging rights does take the sting out of the pain.

sok2005

parsi wrote: »

The SPWC went off nice and peacefully despite being open to all and it had a cracking vibe both this year and last year.

We used have "young professionals" renting near us and their behaviour was quite appalling. Nothing like waking up at 3AM just to hear a braying Corkie accent begging their friend to play a bit of ball.

Ah so the good people of Cork wouldn't be allowed to pay just for the food as it would make the queues too long ?

This event seems like an over-sized food court where you're forced to pay in and then pay for your food. I suppose though that the "I'm a fooooodie" bragging rights does take the sting out of the pain.

I'm sensing a little bit of resentment here!

Not every event has to be available to everyone's pocket. You're not forced to go, there's always farmers markets!

parsi

sok2005 wrote: »

I'm sensing a little bit of resentment here!

Not every event has to be available to everyone's pocket. You're not forced to go, there's always farmers markets!

Lol. No resentment here. However I thought we had left the artificial distinctions that characterised the Celtic Tiger behind. After all we now know that an ostentatious display of money doesn't mean that it's backed by assets and we know that a display of professionalism doesn't make someone inimitably better (cf Seanie Fitz). Therefore we shouldn't feel the need to hand over €25 each just to be allowed to buy food. After all in many of our fine local restaurants that €25 per head would go a long way.

This is like the Ideal Homes Exhibition writ large - pay to go in in order to buy stuff. Imagine if Mahon Point Farmers Market had an entrance fee - attendance would drop like a stone in a millpond.

PcAngel

I think 25 euro entry is too much this day and age. I had a brilliant Sunday lunch for that yesterday in a lovely hotel.

evilivor

PcAngel wrote: »

I think 25 euro entry is too much this day and age. I had a brilliant Sunday lunch for that yesterday in a lovely hotel.

€25 for entry to a public park on one of the hottest day of the year so far is a disgrace.

gbee

sok2005 wrote: »

I'm sensing a little bit of resentment here!]

OK. For the stalls in the park, they had to pay a fee in the thousands of euro and an share of sales.

Hence the Corker. This is probably the primary reason dishes had to be Celtic Tiger Priced.

beer enigma

I dont think you can blame the exhibitors for the entry fee, my understanding is the same as gbee in so far as the stallholders were charged a small ransom.

As I mentioned earlier, I got the early bird tickets which were 2 for €20 for the first evening & I can't baulk at that - I dont think I could have managed much more than 4 hrs without running out of things to see to be honest, so the €25 all dayers were not great value - in my opinion.

As for the food prices, we would normally go out once every couple of weeks for a meal & if you look at it like a grazing menu, I think it was pretty good value.

t would be interesting to see how much of a profit the organisers made out of it

H8GHOTI

The price for having a stall is on the website
http://www.tastefest.ie/book-a-stand/