The fickle finger of fete

After the food writers of America's biggest newspaper put together a game-changing food fest, we get F&B fest organisers in Mumbai to discuss what it takes -- the challenges, where India can trump others, and what more we need to do

Sparks flit off a candyfloss machine. You bite into a pink cloud of sugary goodness, only for it to disappear into your mouth within minutes. You're shaken from your moment of bliss by shrieks from excited kids on a giant Ferris wheel revolving in the background. Who among us can forget Sunday trips to the winter fair that made for evenings of uninhibited fun?

But for the longest time, these "melas" served as the tried-and-tested structure for Indian festivals, until things began changing with the advent of more culturally skewed events, like film and music festivals. Even so, walk into a food festival in 2019, and after a while, it feels like someone replaced the candyfloss with something fancier, like a waffle on a stick.

Crispy is a platform for local brands

Earlier this month, The New York Times, America's top publication with stellar F&B coverage, put together their first food festival. Organised entirely by the newspaper's staff, it appeared to be a solid affair, backed by careful (and discretionary) curation and tied together with talks and ticketed dinners at restaurants across New York City.

One of the only festivals in India to have had even a semblance of this kind of rigour was the Vault Biennale organised by fine spirits' connoisseur Keshav Prakash in February, this year. Like the US publication's festival, this one, too, had verticals — Experience, where you could sample 50-plus fine spirit brands; Listen, a series of talks; Indulge, which comprised master classes; and Discover, where you could get acquainted with new brands.

NYT Food Fest in Manhattan. Image courtesy/greekalicious_food

Prakash shares that the motive behind any festival is two-pronged — community-building and first-hand experience. What thus sets apart a truly good one from a run-off-the-mill variant is the curation. The production comes later. "And you have many really good event management companies to take care of that," he argues. The idea behind the Biennale emerged from a passion for fine sprits, around which the community in India is either scattered, or too small.

The quest and the curiosity

But whether it is Prakash, who helmed what can be called a "serious" F&B festival; Ronak Rajani, who has spent years working with festival organisers and recently pulled off Crispy, a new-age food market that doubled up as a platform for homegrown brands that do not have the financial wherewithal for aggressive marketing; or Nevil Timbadia, one of the three organisers of Tapped Beer Festival (ostensibly India's first craft beer festival that kicked off in 2014) — they all agree that despite the odds, a veritable audience seeking such kind of experiences is there. What then is missing? A lot.

Tapped's footfall has increased from 800 in 2014 to 4,300 in February this year

"When Bhakti [Mehta], Saumya [Khona] and I started this festival, the craft beer scene was just getting started. There were only two Mumbai-based brands at that point, but there was an interest. At that time, we were just looking at a one-day event to explore craft beers," Timbadia recalls, adding that over the years, and as each edition threw up new facets, fresh elements like music, games and kids zones were added to the programme. The fact that him, Mehta and Khona had varied expertise (Mehta has a catering business and Timbadia has dabbled in music programming at his restaurants) helped give the event a more dynamic bent.

But Rajani questions this notion when he says, "While some food festivals in the city, like The Lil Flea, offer a great overall experience, curation-wise, none of them have really evolved." Then, how do you explain how festivals like Tapped have changed from being a platform for catering and pop-up variety brands like Pack-a-Pav to a dais for more austere ventures like O Pedro or Nara? This change is perhaps best understood as consequential, rather than intentional. "Food-wise, I think, what is interesting is that now, restaurants are tweaking their approach to these festivals by whipping up exclusive dishes. So, you could have eaten at CinCin, but you'll only get to try this particular dish here," Timbadia tells us.

Ronak Rajani and Nevil Timbadia

An eye on the future

This is an interesting development because it points towards a collaborative approach. And yet, Prakash feels, we have not even scratched the surface. "The Vault Biennale's inception was followed by a two-year gestation period. It took us eight months to put it together because our offering needed to be uncompromised. And you have to ask yourself what the purpose of a festival is. It's a place where a person subscribes to a curator so they can open up new windows for them. If your festival is all about discounts — which is so passé — then, it's really a bazaar."

Should a festival cater to the needs of niche communities while also serving as an avenue for undiscovered brands and act as a platform, generally, for the discerning foodie, like the NYT Food Fest has? Sure. But apart from being all of these things, any event is, at the end of the day, a business venture too.

Keshav Prakash

So, it has to make economic sense. In a country where established restaurants are already grappling with soaring rentals, cumbersome licensing procedures and dwindling profit margins, the risk with respect to a full-blown event like a food or drinks festival is exponentially multiplied. Even if there is vision, how do you reconcile it with logistical concerns like profitability? "Initially we didn't make much money, it grew with time. We literally flipped a coin and saw where it went," Timbadia reveals. The solution? You have to just stick it out.

Upcoming The Lil Flea is on November 8, 9 and 10; Tapped 8.0 is on November 24

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