Real Food Festival - mixed experiences



Figure 1: Demonstration on
how to butcher a lamp

 Earls Court 1, Warwick Road, London, a festival is taking place. It is called Real Food Festival, which has commenced since 5th May and will end on 8th. Because of my interest in gastronomy, I visited this so-called festival with some friends. If I were to be critical with this event, it is more like a convention than a festival. The word 'festival' conjure up the images of multiple food stalls, some bands performing their gigs, some artists singing and dancing, children running around with laughter, and roving entertainment. Whilst not all of these images were seen at this Real Food Festival, it did have a broad diversity food stalls, parents wondering around with their little ones, and food lovers milling around in their goodies bags. Instead of performances by bands and/or artists, there were cooking demonstrations, cheese-tasting sessions, and cheese-education workshops.

In some occasions I have the inclination of being a conspicuous consumer, and this was one of them. Instead of buying a standard ticket, I bought a VIP ticket with the intention of having some special experiences at the festival. To my disappointment, the experiences promised by the VIP ticket were somewhat ordinary. I didn't feel like a VIP after visiting the VIP tent. The word 'VIP' usually conjure up the images of glamorous, glittering decor, funky furniture, red carpet, well-dressed doorman and waitresses or waiters, scrumptious canapes, and cool music. None of these ostentatious, VIP attributes were evident at the VIP tent. Instead, the tent appeared to be hastily set up. The door-lady, although not grumpy, was somewhat lukewarm when greeting us. The floor was covered with maroon carpet and was scattered with leaflets and empty, plastic cups. No scrumptious canapes were offered. Whilst the VIP ticket promised one fine-quality cocktail, it tasted more like a low-priced sugary fruit punch. No funky background music. The goodies bag consisted of a recipe book authored by an ex-rugby player who later became a cook (he is not a chef as he doesn't own or work in a restaurant), a food magazine, and loads of promotional leaflets. Because of these reasons, this is why I classify my experiences with the VIP ticket as ordinary and disappointing.

Despite I was unimpressed with the VIP experiences, I was quite satisfied with the experiences offered by the food stalls trading the festival. There were many quality and authentic food stalls, mostly home-grown or home-produced. There were cheese makers, chutney makers, ice-cream manufacturers, producers of alcoholic beverages (eg wine, champagne, cider, and vodka) and non-alcoholic beverages (eg energy drink, fruit drink), bakers (eg cup cakes, breads, and fruit loafs etc), and chocolatiers. There were organic and non-organic food traders. In addition to the multiplicity of food stalls, various cooking demonstrations were scheduled at different areas and different times. Diversity and variety are, I believe, two major appealing characteristics of the Real Food Festival. As a conclusion to this blog, I would say my experiences with the Real Food Festival were mixed, both positive and negative.

Figure 3: Cooking demonstration
by Jun Tanaka



Figure 2: One of the many chutney makers



Managing my writing 'disease'

I thought once I have conquered my PhD, I could take a slower pace with my writing. I now realise that it is only a wishful thinking. Writing never stops after the conclusion of the PhD journey, not when one aims to succeed or excel as an academic. Writing is like the Never-ending Story in academia. Our promotion, job security, and eligibility for research grants hinge, largely and significantly, on our writing and publications. I took a few weeks off from writing between March and April; I now need to re-engage with it fast and aggressively. If I were to pass my probation and secure my lectureship promotion in August, not only do I need to write and publish two journal papers from my PhD, I also need to write a negotiated essay for Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP). I quite enjoy writing. However, every time I try to write, fear emerges. I seem to have writing-phobia. I cannot help or refrain myself from editing a sentence repeatedly before moving on to the next one. Sometimes, after several revision, I can still be discontent with the sentence. The editing process, hence, continues. I do wonder sometimes if I also have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for writing. Whether it is writing-phobia or OCD or some mix of both, it will not deter me from writing. Whilst I may not be able to remove my writing-phobia or OCD, I will do everything I can to learn to manage it. One way is to practise 'snack writing, which is to write a short narrative or blog regularly. This blog signifies my first step of managing my writing disease.