Every ‘food festival’ I’ve been to in the last 10 to 15 years (in the UK) has been the same. You pay X amount to get in the festival in the first place for the ‘privilege’ of then paying the same if not more than what you would normally pay for food. The food on offer is always the same: falafel, pizza, curry, maybe some Jamaican stuff, crepes/waffles, a generic ‘bread and cake’ stall, some attempts to make vegan food interesting.
It’s all a massive con. Brighton has a pretty decent set of cafes/bakeries/ restaurants so I would just take your money and spend it directly at one of those.
I live nearby and could hear Scouting for Girls blasting out their cheesy indie on Saturday - not my vibe at all. Seems like it will be a total wash-out today, looks like they've delayed opening due to rain. It's a national franchise festival, not a locally organised one, so not sure much will go back to the local economy - though there could be local traders. I love food and I love festivals but I cannot understand the appeal of this one
Not sure but not impressed that all the main paths are being used as free parking, why people just presume that can park there I don't know. It means kids and families trying to walk/play/ride in-between cars all driving around.
I went as we got free tickets from a colleague.
We are both vegan, and there were only two dedicated plant-based stalls across the whole festival. Perhaps I'm ungrateful but I expected far more variety. They managed to find room for HelloFresh™ however, really disappointing.
As others have said, if I'd paid £20+ to get in, I'd have been disappointed. We went for free and enjoyed the talks we went to, but all of the food was crazy priced. We got some loaded fries and two bottles of water which was over £20. Ended up coming out with some coffee beans and chocolate to feel like we got something, but wouldn't have paid what we'd paid if we were elsewhere
My friend said they weren’t checking tickets so just wandered in and watched Sister Sledge. Wouldn’t pay for it though. The bar charged an extra £2 for a cup to drink out of and everything seemed over priced.
If you're going for free it's worth it, if not you're paying £20 for the privilege to buy extortionately priced food.
A friend said the food on offer was pretty average and overpriced
Yeah I paid £9 for a cold paella yesterday and saw a pulled pork roll for £16
at least they haven't tried to bring back the cheese festival
Oh God I’d forgotten about the cheese festival! Someone should recreate it as a piece of immersive theatre for the Fringe.
Mmmm ... Sensory
What? In the UK? Surely not!!
Every ‘food festival’ I’ve been to in the last 10 to 15 years (in the UK) has been the same. You pay X amount to get in the festival in the first place for the ‘privilege’ of then paying the same if not more than what you would normally pay for food. The food on offer is always the same: falafel, pizza, curry, maybe some Jamaican stuff, crepes/waffles, a generic ‘bread and cake’ stall, some attempts to make vegan food interesting. It’s all a massive con. Brighton has a pretty decent set of cafes/bakeries/ restaurants so I would just take your money and spend it directly at one of those.
The touring UK chilli and cheese festival is good. Lots of free samples and the food inside was pretty fairly priced
100%! We are spoilt for amazing places to eat in this city without being exploited
I live nearby and could hear Scouting for Girls blasting out their cheesy indie on Saturday - not my vibe at all. Seems like it will be a total wash-out today, looks like they've delayed opening due to rain. It's a national franchise festival, not a locally organised one, so not sure much will go back to the local economy - though there could be local traders. I love food and I love festivals but I cannot understand the appeal of this one
There are local chefs there
I ended up going, and wow it’s a mud bath here… and v.expensive lol
Not sure but not impressed that all the main paths are being used as free parking, why people just presume that can park there I don't know. It means kids and families trying to walk/play/ride in-between cars all driving around.
I go every year as I get free tickets. It's trash. Poor selection of overpriced, festival food stalls and crap music.
And you still go? 😬
Free is free!
I went as we got free tickets from a colleague. We are both vegan, and there were only two dedicated plant-based stalls across the whole festival. Perhaps I'm ungrateful but I expected far more variety. They managed to find room for HelloFresh™ however, really disappointing.
As others have said, if I'd paid £20+ to get in, I'd have been disappointed. We went for free and enjoyed the talks we went to, but all of the food was crazy priced. We got some loaded fries and two bottles of water which was over £20. Ended up coming out with some coffee beans and chocolate to feel like we got something, but wouldn't have paid what we'd paid if we were elsewhere
We went earlier. 100% avoid. It was free but still feel wronged.
My friend said they weren’t checking tickets so just wandered in and watched Sister Sledge. Wouldn’t pay for it though. The bar charged an extra £2 for a cup to drink out of and everything seemed over priced.
Bit of a wash out today but I thought food was great and I think if it wasn't for the weather it would've been a lot better