Good food and wine?
Posted on 21. May, 2004 by Cassandra in Uncategorized
Cherryflava took the time to attend the Good food and wine show at the CTICC last night.
Here’s the review:
After a bit of a maze solving exercise to find the entrance to the show – Cherryflava finally got through the registration guard armed with data-collecting supercomputer…and into the show. It’s a bit of a change in venue this year as opposed to the Good Hope centre of previous shows.
All of the usual suspects were there…a handful of wine farms, bottle stores, the Spar,biltong people and ‘celebrity’ chefs (one of those Gourmet girls was spotted…cheesy smile and everything).
After a few samplings of SA beer, the vibe seemed to magically improve.
There was lots of sniffing, tasting, slurping, sampling and commenting…and that’s not even mentioning the action happening at the food stands. But at the end of the day…the show was a tad on the dull side…with just a pinch of ‘been-there-done-that’ thrown in for good measure.
There was nothing overly exciting to see or taste and the whole concept just begs to be rebranded and injected with some innovation and creativity. At a whopping R50 entrance fee and then a further R10 for a wine tasting glass – Cherryflava just couldn’t help but think the whole thing was just one big money printing scam. It just feels like this kind of trade show vibe has been a success in the past and now it’s time to milk the public…relying on pure brand equity from previous shows.
Everything seemed to lack style, passion and energy and half the exhibitors looked peeved about having to be there. It’s all about your brand guys…wake up.
So the Cherryflava advice to you…don’t bother going to this year’s show. Save your R60 for a nice bottle of wine a couple of candles and an autumn sunset on the beach.
3 Responses to “Good food and wine?”
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Jean Claude
21. May, 2004
Well said Flava bra. I was virtually there and had a very unpleasant time indeed, or so it seemed. That is Y I bought myself a bottle of Chateau Plonckovic and took the young damsel to another place to investigate her maze instead.
I agree wholeheartedly that these dudes really should have a relok at their Brandy identities.
Ciao
Candice
14. Jul, 2004
Hey Cheryflava,
You and I must have been at different events!! I thought that the Good Food & Wine Show at the Convention Centre was the best-ever and it is certainly an annual highlight for me and all other Capetonians that I speak to.
With regards to the entry fee, bearing in mind that entry entitles visitors’ to free access to the chefs in action theatre, the baking theatre, the cheese theatre, the wine theatre, the Italian Kitchen etc., I think that it is extremely good value for money. I arrived at 11:00 and only left at 18:00 – I shopped up a storm, tasted some fabulous products (alot of new ones that I didn’t even know existed) and learnt the most amazing cooking tricks.
Sad to hear about your experience, call me a fan but I’ll be attending next year ‘ s show and judging from the crowds of people that were having a ball when I was there, I won’t be alone.
Cherryflava
15. Jul, 2004
At the end of the day, it’s about your personal experience. I just felt that there was so much more they could have done with the event.
It lacked creativity.