The Ultimate Guide to Food and Drink Festivals

If you’ve attended any food events in the past, you’ve learned a few things. You usually need to carry everything, walk a good distance to the festival from your transportation, and be prepared for whatever the weather brings.  Here’s a compilation of tips I’ve learned over the years of going to food, wine, cocktail, and beer events along with links to past posts about it. 

A sling for your glass means your hands are free to stuff your face.

General Tips

1. Wear comfortable shoes.  You'll be walking from where you parked to the festival, and all over the festival.  

2. Sunblock.  Sunblock.  Sunblock.  And sunblock.  UV rays don’t discriminate when you’re eating foie gras.  

3. If you must wear a dress or a skirt, make sure it has some structure and substance so it doesn't get blown around.  The wind was causing some free peep shows.  

4. Neti-pot (with distilled or boiled water) when you get home.  Festivals are usually outdoor, and they can get quite dusty.  Your sinus will thank you.

5. Phone charger.  Also bring a portable charger if you can.  You don’t want to be glued to an outlet. Keep it in a plastic bag big enough for your phone and camera in case it rains. 

6. Bring your own fork and spoon, because you might need your own when the disposables run out. Bring your own glass sling too.  Instructions here: http://misohungrynow.blogspot.com/2013/04/make-your-own-wine-or-beer-sling-for.html

7. ID. Even if you look like you’re 85 years old, TABC could be watching.  No one wants trouble with TABC so bring your license and don’t pitch a fit if you’re required to show it.

8. A designated driver. You can destroy your own liver, but please don’t destroy another person’s life.

9. Cash. While many vendors may take credit cards onsite, cell service can be spotty at large events.  Cash is king.  

10. Your manners. Don’t piss off people.  Don’t be rude.  Everyone here wants to have fun, including the volunteers.  

11. Drink water.  And more water.  And then more water.

12. Benadryl and band-aids.  You never know when you or someone at the festival will have an allergic reaction to food or insect bites.  I always carry benadryl, just in case.  And you never know when you're going to need a band-aid for a blister, burn, or cut. 

12. If Franklin's is at the festival, run to the line first.  RUN! RUN! RUN!

Nothing more satisfying than a man and his meat.  Get your head out of the gutter. 

Great American Beer Festival and Tales of the Cocktail Tips

1. Bring an umbrella to New Orleans if you don’t want to get wet.  It rains almost everyday.

2. Bring some pretzels or a turkey leg on your neck for Great American Beer Festival.  Unless you are going to a food event, you will need food reserves. There are food vendors inside with limited selection.  I would bring my own vittles. 

This man is simply awesome.  Turkey leg necklaces are a must for the ultimate beer loving carnivore. 

Austin Food and Wine Festival Tips

1. Unless you have a VIP pass, it might be wise to wait until the last hour of the grand tasting.  During the VIP period, it was pretty tame.  However, during general admission, it could get a little squishy.  If you wait until after most of the crowd had eaten their fill, the tents started to clear out.

2. Arrive very early to the cooking demos.  The lines can start as far as an hour in advance.

3. Bring a bag big enough to carry all the books and swag that you'll collect.  They do give you a resuable tote bag, but it does get difficult to carry.  I bring my own sling or shoulder strap style bag. 

The cooking demo line for Qui Ingredients at the 2013 Austin Food and Wine Festival. 

Viva La Big Bend!

1. Helmet.  This might seem odd.  There are many bikers (the motorcycle kind) out in West Texas.  You’ll never know when you need one for a ride on a Harley.

2. Boots.  This is mandatory dress code for West Texas.  Boots.  

3. Lotion and chapstick.  Did I mention that this is the desert? You'll dehydrate quickly. 

Boots are a must.

Brewery Events

1. Chair.  If you can’t stand for long periods of time, bring a chair.  The brewery most likely will not have any.

2. Snacks. And sometimes there is no food provided at brewery open houses, though it is becoming less common.  You might find a food truck or two, but selection is usually limited.  Pack a power bar, banana, apple, or some crackers.

Wish you were Beer.....at Big Bend Brewing Company in Alpine, TX. 

Dog Friendly Festivals

1. Dog on leash. Do NOT bring your dog off-leash.  I’ve been to so many festivals where dogs are running the street because the owners are too busy doing something else.  The leash is for safety.  Use it.  No one wants to leave a festival early because their dog got hurt. 

2. Water + drinking bowl.  I bring a water jug with a shoulder strap for my dogs because they drink directly out of the jug.  Dogs need water throughout the day as well.

3. Poop bags.  Nature calls.  Clean it up.  No one wants to step in dog poop.  Or human poop either.  Keep a diaper on the babies.  

4. Snacks.  If you’re out and about for a long period of time, bring snacks for the puppies.  If you can’t go eight hours without food, why should your dog go without food.  I also bring treats for my dogs because I use every outing as a training session.  

5. Your dog’s manners. No one likes cranky people, and no one likes rude dogs.  Please train your dog how to behave appropriately in public before bringing it out to play.

This durable $10 dress gave me the freedom to shuck 450 oysters at Viva Big Bend and run around.  And it was machine washable.  Get over here and have an oyster!

Working festivals:

If you’ve worked a food festival, there requires just a little more.  

1. Prepare your stomach in advance.  You may not get to eat as you’ll probably get caught up in work and forget to eat.  You might have to eat after midnight after clean up. 

2. Wear something that is durable and machine washable.  You might be hauling 50 lb cases of raw seafood or have someone drop a bowl of salsa on you.  If it wasn’t totally out of theme with the event, I might even consider wearing workout gear.  You might be getting a serious one.  

8 tips on how to give a Fantastically Terrible Talk

I'm a hedonist.  I fully admit that I like things that are pleasurable.  I like talks.  Wait, not I LOVE talks.  I love informative talks, talks that make me self reflect, talks that teach me, talks that inspire me, and talks that make me laugh.  But most of all, I like pleasurable talks.  By pleasurable, I mean that the talk is well presented.  Having spent four years in speech, drama, and debate, and seven years judging speech, drama, and debate, I recognize that I probably have high expectations for public speaking.  But I also view this from the perspective that my time is valuable.  If I'm going to spend 20-30 minutes driving to a location and then parking my car to see a talk, it better be worth my time. *I made these pretty drawings in paint to disguise the identities of the speakers.  So here's some tips on how and how NOT to give a good presentation.  1. Appearances are important.  You might argue that looks have nothing to do with the content, but face the truth.  Pretty things are more attractive.  A beautifully presented dish is going to be recieved better than a dish that is not.  Would you eat an Uchi shag roll if it was run through a blender with a cup of sake and a tablespoon of wasabi?  I'm going to guess not, because it is going to look hideous!  Would like to read a blog post that was written in this font at 10 point?   Probably not.  It is difficult to read.  The same thing will happen if you look like a complete slob on stage.  I'm not telling you that you should be dressed in a suit, but I am saying that if you look like a mess, you're going to have a more difficult time getting the crowd to take you seriously.  2. For a spectacularly terrible presentation, don't have a prepared theme or story.  While it is true that some people can wing it and that some panels are completely unpredictable, but please for the love of Thespius, show up with a theme at least.  Know your story, your angle, and have some idea of what you're going to share with the audience.  There's nothing worse than going to a talk where the speaker seems to have the attitude of "I'm here to talk. I'm not sure about what."  That stinks of unpreparedness. 3. Apologize if you need to during your presentation.  Let's say you trip over a cord  and unplug the projector.  Apologize for that and move on.  But do NOT start the presentation by saying "Sorry, I'm a really terrible speaker." "Sorry, I didn't sleep last night because I was wasted." or "Sorry, I'm ill prepared for this presentation."  The first excuse makes the audience think "the organizers should have found someone who is a good speaker."  The other two excuses make people think that you don't have any respect for their time.  Instead of working on a thoughtful presentation, you decided that you had other priorities in your life.  The least you could have done was to let the organizer know that you are not able to give the speech.  If you are a terrible speaker, you don't have to tell the audience.  Public speaking can be stressful, and even the most polished speakers make mistakes.  The audience will understand, and they'll still like you even if you say "um........." or "er................", or totally blank out.  Trust me.  It'll all be okay.  Also, you might think you are a terrible speaker, when in reality you are a great speaker.  Don't fret! 4. Separate the umbilical cord tethering you to the powerpoint slide or online video.  At some venues, there will be technical failures, and you should be prepared for it.  If you cannot give your presentation without the use of a power point, then maybe you aren't ready to give your presentation.  While photographs and video are worth 10,000,000,000,000 words, the last resort is to describe it verbally.  You can do such a good job describing the photos and videos that the lack thereof is a moot point.  I recently attended a talk that was centered around video and photography media.  The AV was okay, but the lighting in the room made the video and photographs presented look pretty washed out and unrecognizable.  Instead of killing the presentation, it actually make the presentation a million times better because the focus was on the content that the speakers shared, not the video and photographs.  The content was so interesting and compelling that the focus of the presentation (photographs and video) didn't matter.  Also, the story telling skills of the speakers were so compelling that it did bring tears to the eyes of the audience.  Now THAT'S a good presentation. 6. We don't want to hang out with you while you surf the web or think out loud.  A presentation should be just that, a presentation.  A presentation should not be a brainstorming session, a web searching session, or a train of thought session.  I recently went to a talk in which the presenter made a number of mistakes, but this was his fatal mistake.  Instead of having a prepared presentation, he plugged in a laptop (after 25 minutes of failed attempts) and talked to us about his feelings about some people he met and their websites.  There was no theme to the train of thought, and I learned zero.  I can browse the internet at home, thanks.  That talk made over half the attendees leave, and I tried repeatedly to use non-verbal communication to get him to stop and go home.  The only reason why I didn't leave was because I sponsored the refreshments, and I wanted to take home my dishes.  7. Watch your tone.  I once started a presentation on a happy note, and the person I introduced killed the mood.  She was nervous, anxious, pleading, and all around negative.  It killed the energy in the room.  Oops.  People can pick up how you feel via mirror neurons.  If you don't want to be giving the presentation, your attendees probably don't want to be there either.  If you make remarks about hating the local university's mascot and colors, the crowd will probably hate you too.  Instead, put away all your ill-feelings and wear a smile.  8. Don't forget your filter.  This one will make you seem as if you are bit unstable.  A topic that you're speaking about might get your riled up, and it is great to have that passion.  However, if you become so emotional that you seem like you've gone off your rocker or start attacking (physically or verbally) the audience, it is perhaps time to learn how to control the expression of your emotions.  I get very uncomfortable when speakers start going off on a diatribe or I feel as if they might physically hurt someone.  Never going back to one of those.

How to put on blogger/online media events: A guide for restaurants

 Over the last year, the number of blogger/online media happy hours and events have exploded.  With many of new restaurants opening, restaurants undergoing a makeover, and restaurants looking for new ways to reach bloggers/online media, I’ve helped set up some of these events.  Here’s my guide to organizing and executing a blogger event.  This guide was written after attending many wonderfully orchestrated events as well that some that left a poor impression on me. 

Blogger/Online Media Culture

Bloggers and food writers tend to hang out together and to know each other well.  There is a strong sense of community, and the active ones tend to keep each other up to date on events and happenings.  Most of food bloggers have full-time jobs, kids, and other hobbies.  Very few are food writer for their day jobs. 

Make sure your staff understands that a bloggers at an event tend to be different from normal customers.  We’ll typically ask more questions about the food, move around often, and spend quite a bit of time with our cameras.  Be prepared to answer numerous questions from food sources, cooking techniques, and restaurant philosophy.  Expect questions about your wine cellar, kitchen appliances, garden, or other event areas. 

Scheduling

Schedule the event for at least two hours with no other events that day.  Media tends to hang out and socialize for long periods of time afterwards.  Most events are 5-7 pm or 6-8 pm.  The advantage of earlier hours is that the event won’t interrupt normal dinner services.  The disadvantage is that many bloggers work past 7 pm. 

Plan for the event to be earlier in the week so that the chef has time to chat.  Make sure your event doesn’t conflict with other food events, avoiding blogger, social media, or other community events as well as around the holidays.  Many food bloggers have a list of upcoming food events. 

Invites

Invites should address all details.  Ambiguity in an attendees’ mind almost always equals disorganization.  Invites should specify whether or not the event is complimentary, requires tickets to be purchased, or if meals will be ordered off the menu regularly.  Invites should also be explicit on whether or not the event is a private blogger event or part of an open invite to the public.

Many blogs have co-writers or support staff (photographers).  I have a small pool of photographers that rotate in when my regular one cannot make it.  Specify in the invite whether or not the event can accommodate support staff. 

Electronic invites with a built in RSVP tool can be sent out with a variety of free online services such as Evite, MyPunchbowl, or PaperlessPost.  Make sure you send in as a separate email, and NOT as part of a weekly newsletter or link on your website.  Most people won’t see the invite, and thus no one will show up.  Be sure to hide everyone’s email addresses when sending email.  No one wants their email to be stolen.   PDF or jpeg versions of the invite can also be emailed. 

Expect that many people will not attend.  In the Austin food community, usually one-third or less of people invited typically show up.  Factors that decrease attendance includes distance from downtown, parking availability, day of the week, time of the day, and proximity to other big food events.  Expect that about 10% of those who RSVPed will not show up.

Ideally, invites to these events should be sent out at two to three weeks in advance.  Be sure to include links to website, chefs bio, facebook page, and twitter accounts.  Last minute invites give the appearance of disorganization. 

If you’re marketing the restaurant to wildly different groups of people, you might think about doing events for each of the groups separately.  This will help you meet the needs and expectations of all the groups. 

Publicity and Contact Methods

While there are many good publicists in Austin (email me privately for a list of ones that do a thorough job), there are not so thorough ones.  Check up on publicists by asking for references.  I’ve had one publicists tell me that 5000 people were invited to an event, and only 12 showed  up. 

While it is nice to have your publicist(s) present at the event, bloggers/online media often want to meet the chefs and owners. 

Questions and comments from writers should be answered promptly, usually within 48 hours.  I’ve had to wait three weeks for simple answers from a publicist, which ultimately lead to me discarding the blog post.

Photography and Set up

Make sure there is a well lit area for staging food or set up arranged dishes in a well-lit area for photographs. Adequate lighting is essential for good photographs.  Many food bloggers do not use a flash.  If possible, set up a photo table with food next to a window for photos in natural light.  Dim light or multicolored lights are terrible for taking photographs, and it can require many hours of photo editing afterwards. 

Avoid sit down style events if working with a fairly large groups (15 or more).  Those types of events have often felt too formal, too stiff, and not a good set up for conversation.  Provide seating, but don’t expect food bloggers to sit still.  One of the best part about these events is the community among the food bloggers.  We love to hang out with each other. 

What to Expect and Taking Criticism

Do not pressure bloggers to post about your event.  Everyone has different reasons for why they do or do not post.  They might not post because they did not get enough content to post.  They might also decide to not write simply because they lacked the time.  Lack of writing shouldn't be taken as feed back.

Some bloggers will save your blog post for a special occasion.  For example, I posted about St. Arnold’s new brewery three days prior to an event held at the brewery.  Even though I had written the post four months in advance, it served as a teaser to the event. 

Name tags are especially helpful if inviting different types of media (magazines, online, newspapers, etc…).  It helps facilitate conversation between everyone.

You can solicit feedback simply by asking how one is enjoying the food.  Take constructive criticism gracefully.  Most bloggers offer criticism because they want a restaurant to succeed.  Don’t take it personally.  Not everyone has the same preferences.  Expect that some people might not enjoy the dishes presented. 

Tweeting or posting links to your own website, Twitter, or Facebook is perfectly fine, but make sure you ask permission before using photos outside of a post.  Some bloggers don’t care if you use their photos, some bloggers’ photos are creative commons licensed, and some are not to be used without explicit consent and proper credits. 

Promoting an festival or other events

It is quite possible that there are bloggers who specialize in covering certain types of food or drinks.  It is to your advantage to offer complimentary media passes.  Covering events is not only incredibly time consuming (some events lasting up to five hours including driving time), but blogging can also be incredibly time consuming.  I’ve spent over 24 hours uploading video for a single post, and I typically spend one to two hours writing text.  My photographer sometimes spends up to four hours editing photos for my blog.  Offering a complimentary media pass is a friendly gesture. 

To drum up events, you might offer tickets to serve as prize giveaways to prominent blogs.  Not only does it encourage traffic to the blog, but also gives more face time to the event.

Going the Extra Mile

Provide attendees with hand outs and detailed information about the dishes.  It is difficult to take notes, eat, chat with friends, and take photos at the same time.  Offering access to stock photos is also greatly appreciated. 

Publicists and chefs might take a moment to familiarize themselves with the attendees prior to the event.  This gives the impression that the restaurant truly cares and is wants to be part of the food community. It also allows the chef time to create a special dish for attendees who might have dietary requirements.

If parking is an issue, providing complimentary valet may increase the number of bloggers who would attend your event.