Belfast Taste and Music Fest 2009 – What do you think?
Posted: 20 August '09 by Niall
Belfast Taste and Music Fest 09
So, another Belfast Taste-Fest has come and gone – but what to make of it?
Although we enjoyed the day out in The Big Smoke – due to the delicious food cooked up by all of those local and Chicagoan chefs, the decent weather, and the fact that there was a sizeable beer tent – I was a bit non-plussed by the end of the day. Something wasn’t right – and now that the dust and the sore heads have settled, I thought I’d try and work out what my problem with the Taste-Fest was. I suppose it all comes down to why the Taste and Music festival was put together..
If the idea was to introduce some of the talented Northern Irish chefs theout there then, yes, I suppose it achieved that – there were plenty of chefs representing restaurants and eateries from across Northern Ireland that I’d never heard of.
What about promoting new tastes and standards of cooking? Again, there were some great dishes being made, so yes, I think this was probably achieved.
But as for enthusing people, introduce the public to the people behind the apron, or kick-start a food-loving, food-saavy community in Northern Ireland? I doubt it.
For me, the event was all about the money – and it was a fairly expensive event, what with admission costing £10 per person, and bags of twenty tokens (necessary to buy any food) also £10. Many of the tasting-plates cost 6 or 7 tokens, and it just rankled a bit. Should four prawns, or the smallest burger I’ve ever encountered (although it was made from wild boar), cost £3.50? At those prices the “eat goes on” for about ten minutes, checks it’s wallet, and contemplates the following days’ phone-call to the bank manager during the long walk home..
The bar itself was a bit of a nightmare too – big queues (waiting times were around 10 or 15 minutes by 9pm), and there was a limited selection of beer and wine – not as bad as “red or white” for the wine selection, but not a million miles away.
It certainly wasn’t all bad news – the food was superb – really superb in some cases – the Botanic Gardens are a great venue, and the entertainment was good too (Flash Harry on the Saturday night).
Maybe I am a bit idealistic, or I’ve been spoiled by foodie-events in other countries, but it just seems that, no matter what is organised in Northern Ireland, the focus is on your wallet.
I just think we can and need to do better.
Categories: Things to do
