TASTE OF SUCCESS
100K+ visits to food fest
There were more than 100,000 visits to Taste of Saskatchewan last week, with people shelling out in excess of $1 million on food and drink tickets.
“It won’t be our best year, for sure, but it’s still a great year,” organizer Scott Ford said Sunday afternoon.
Taste of Saskatchewan got off to a rainy start Tuesday.
“It scared the customers away and that carries into the next day as well,” Ford said.
But the sun came out Wednesday and attendance began to climb.
On Friday, people made more than 20,000 visits to the free festival at Kiwanis Park, which boasted 30 food booths and 56 bands over six days.
Some booths were doing so well that they had sold out of menu items by Sunday afternoon, Ford said.
The Hollows restaurant in Riversdale was one of five new local restaurants to enter the Taste of Saskatchewan fray this year.
Chef Christie Peters said she plans to be back next summer and hopes this year serves as a “tipping point” for local restaurants to participate in the festival, which tends to be dominated by franchises.
While there will always be a place for food chains at Taste of Saskatchewan, Peters said she thought more places boasting “authentic Saskatchewan ingredients” would benefit the event and she hopes some might follow The Hollows’ lead and show up next year.
“I feel like, after this year, maybe a lot more local mom and pop places are going to try to get in,” she said. “I hope this year is kind of a game changer.”
As to which booth outsold the others? Keep guessing. Ford never says.