Over the weekend Perth held its first Taste Festival which saw 10 pop-up restaurants descend on Langley Park. The first of any event is tough to judge. Sure, if no one turns up it’s a pretty clear indication that something’s gone wrong, but beyond that the answer lies in your perspective. Consumer perception is key, and with this in mind I’m left pondering a PR lesson learnt at this year’s Taste Perth.
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Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room
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No doubt the organisers will look to the overall number of attendees and the final result of 16,400 people should make them happy, especially considering the football derby on Sunday.
The restaurateurs will judge the events success by the number of portions sold, and any subsequent spike in restaurant bookings. Early indications would suggest the outcome will be a positive.
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Lalla Rookh served 2,890 Nonna’s meatball dishes.
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| Crickets Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Chef Talks
Attendances were also strong at Blanco Taste Kitchen, with people standing three deep outside the tent. It was a delight getting to hear decorated chefs explain their process, particularly when they’d rather be helping out in their swamped pop-up restaurants. Several stayed around after their event to answer questions and have photos taken.
Unfortunately the name of this tent caused some confusion, with city regulations meaning the audience couldn’t taste the dishes made in the ‘Taste’ Kitchen.
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Going back to school
Other hands-on educational events were equally well attended. In the Lurpak Cooking School several would-be MasterChefs got a taste of what it might be like to be on the show. This was made all the more special with MasterChef alumni Julia Taylor directing the class.
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| Julia Taylor Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Naturally mention has to be made of the food, in most cases, smaller versions of what’s on offer at the restaurants. High quality well thought out options, where none of the finessing was scrimped on just because of the smaller serving size. El Publico’s Cuttlefish Tostada won Dish of the Day.
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| thanks to Jessica Wyld |
Other popular dishes were Bib And Tuckers Rotisserie Suckling Pig Sliders and Nobu’s Pork Belly. Some of the offerings that I got to try were:
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Silks – Wok Fried King Prawns; and Pork Belly
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Lalla Rookh – Roasted Porchetta, you had to be quick
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
Sense of Community
When opening the event Taste Perth’s Event Director Simon Wilson, said ‘the festival will represent foodie heaven: stunning food prepared by the city’s greatest restaurants, Perth’s best chefs, superb drinks, artisanal shopping and live entertainment, all set in the stunning outdoor surroundings of the Swan River with the city skyline as the backdrop.’
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| Taste of Perth 2014 © The Ponder Room |
While the queues were quite long at times, they moved quickly and people chatted about what they had eaten, or were about to.
The same comradery was seen at the Virgin Mobile Beats and Seats where cool jazz mixed well with the city skyline and the odd blanket. But the community spirit went further than this …
Stallholders should be mindful that when designing a festival dish, what you save on in dollars can quickly be lost in negative public relations. Perhaps if the audience knew how much the dish cost at the restaurant, they may have been more forgiving.
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| My Kitchen Rules girls Thanks to Jessica Wyld |
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Here’s hoping we have another one next year.
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Langley Park is such a perfect venue to sit back and look at the city while listening to great music, hopefully it will get utilised more often.
Scroll down to see a couple more photos from Friday night below these links
More information about Taste can be found at http://www.tasteofperth.com.au
To read the previous Taste post go to https://www.theponderroom.com/2014/05/10-strategies-to-help-you-survive-taste_2.html
Some restaurant links:
http://www.elpublico.com.au/
http://bistroguillaumeperth.com.au/
http://www.crownperth.com.au/restaurants/premium/silks/menu
http://www.noburestaurants.com/perth
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| thanks to Jessica Wyld |
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| thanks to Jessica Wyld |
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| thanks to Jessica Wyld |
2 Comments
Thanks for your comprehensive coverage of this event. Being unable to attend this gave me a much better idea of what it was all about. A pity the media didn’t give better reports on what must have been a most successful and enjoyable function. Another opportunity to highlight our beautiful city and its facilities. I agree the area with the city backdrop and the river could be put to more use with regular events
Yes it was a great night, both nights. So please you agree. Thanks heaps for the comment I love hearing other people’s thoughts