Festival food trucks: ‘People definitely think you're making more money than you are. Sometimes you just break even'

Irish Times

2 days ago

Freshly shucked oysters. Kombucha stations. Filipino adobo. Acai bowls. Vegan spice bags. It sounds like a line-up from a fancy food event, but these are just some of the things I ate last year at Irish music festivals: the quality of the food they offer has soared over the past decade. So have the prices, however. When a typical festival feed is edging close to €20, what exactly are you paying for? Turns out it's a lot more than just food.
Full disclosure before we delve into things. I'm a festival worker as well as a food-and-drink writer. Since
Electric Picnic's
Theatre of Food debuted, Irish festivals have used food stages as an additional draw. And lots of us writers host and book these food-and-drink stages.
It has also meant that, over the years, I've been asked to help find food trucks and traders. But I soon discovered that this is not my forte. It involves much more than knowing about good food. Sourcing food traders for festivals requires a unique skill set: knowing how many traders are needed, what customers will want to eat, when they'll want it and whether the traders' set-ups can handle the pressure of feeding thousands of people in a field over a long weekend.
That's when someone like Vanessa Clarke, a stalwart of Irish food, steps in. She has been booking traders since the very first Electric Picnic, in 2004, when
John Reynolds
, the festival's late founder, tasked her with filling the fields without relying on the usual event fast-food vendors. 'He told me food is a headline act: we've got to look after our food.'
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Since then, food's role has grown so much that traders' names often appear on posters alongside those of music acts, adding another layer of buzz. Will Rolfe, music booker and curator of
Forbidden Fruit
, In the Meadows and
All Together Now
, agrees.
'Our audiences expect a quality and considered programme,' he says. 'For me, food and music are two things that are unavoidable, so it's worth getting both right.'
He notes how food shapes a festival's reputation and talks about the word-of-mouth that spreads about who's serving the best grub in the same way people might talk about which bands they've seen.
Food's headline status might make it sound like all fun and good craic, but, as Clarke says, 'Trading at a festival is really, really hard work. You need huge stamina and must be prepared to take a gamble.'
That gamble is something
Kwanghi Chan
of the
Bites
food truck knows only too well. After years of festival trading, he now only picks events he knows will be successful. He charges about €17 per meal. 'It's not just the food you pay for,' he says. 'There's insurance, fire certificates, trailer servicing, staff welfare. Costs add up, so prices have to reflect that.'
We are festival folk, and we were sick of seeing some of the rubbish offerings – people just taking frozen burgers and chips out of a box and chucking them in a fryer. If you are there to have a good time, you need some good nourishment, and that's what we are all about
Last year at All Together Now, his meals of dumplings and spice bags were a big hit, drawing constant queues and fans, myself included. Next door to Bites was the equally busy
Bahay
, a Filipino food truck.
As Alex O'Neill, one of its founders, points out, busy doesn't always mean profitable. Bahay became a firm festival favourite after bursting on to the scene five years ago, yet this summer they've largely stepped back from festival life.
'It's just become unsustainable,' she says. 'Everything – festival costs, food and labour – has gotten too expensive. We can't make it viable any more.'
Theatre of Food at Electric Picnic
As an avid festivalgoer herself, O'Neill worries that the vibrant Irish festival food scene is under threat. 'It used to be a place where smaller, independent businesses could get a start, but soaring costs are hitting them hardest. It's a real shame, because festival crowds want good food – they need it – and without it the whole experience suffers.'
The struggle to balance quality and costs is something Matt Murphy and Seán Hussey know all too well. Four years ago they launched
BishBosh Kitchen
. 'We are festival folk, we love it, and we were sick of seeing some of the rubbish offerings – people just taking frozen burgers and chips out of a box and chucking them in a fryer. If you are there to have a good time, you need some good nourishment, and that's what we are all about.'
With at least 12 music festivals lined up this summer, they've felt firsthand the pinch of rising expenses, from the prices of ingredients for their signature pomegranate garnish, which have tripled, to wildly fluctuating electricity costs. For them every event is a gamble. 'The spot you end up in and the Irish weather can make or break a weekend,' they say. Their prices, inevitably, have to reflect these realities.
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Electric Picnic food: Is it really overpriced or is there more to it?
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Philly O'Neill, who runs the
Salty Buoy
food truck with
Niall Sabongi
, knows this gamble well, too. After being stung by a bad location in past years, he's more cautious about which festivals to take on. Specialising in fresh Irish seafood and €20 lobster rolls, the Salty Buoy's offering isn't cheap; the ingredients, of course, are part of that, but O'Neill also cites needing skilled staff, not casual event workers, to handle delicate tasks such as oyster shucking.
'People definitely think you're making more money than you are. Sometimes you just break even,' he says.
But, for now, he can still see the value of being at music festivals such as All Together Now.
'It's good to be seen there, and we think the demographic will suit us. It's a crowd that enjoys food.'
Philly knows this crowd well, because he's one of them. When he's off duty at a festival, he plans his food line-up with the same care as his music schedule. 'You scope the whole arena on day one and decide what you're going to eat over the weekend,' he says. For him, and many others, food is a highlight between the acts.
So here's a thought for your next festival trip: don't just map out the bands; map out your meals, too. Seek out the independents if you can, because you're not just paying for a bite: you're also supporting a struggling Irish food scene. And who knows? You might just discover your new favourite dish between the dancing.
Festival food prices: A very rough guide
A whole load of costs are involved in providing festival food. Here's an approximate breakdown of the price you pay.
Festival fees: 20-30 per cent
The festival might charge a pitch fee, take a percentage of your sales, or both. Many of them see taking a percentage of sales – typically from 20 per cent upwards – as fairer than a big upfront pitch fee. Electricity is a big expense on top of that (and seems to cost more at the bigger events). Each plug you need comes at a cost; vendors might also need to hire a refrigerated van.
Staffing: 20-25 per cent
Most are paid per hour, hours are long and the minimum wage is €13.50 an hour. Traders might also pay for staff travel, cover camping costs and feed their team while they're on site.
Overheads: 10-15 per cent
Trading at a festival also involves extras costs such as taking out insurance, servicing your trucks or marquee, making sure every cert and health-and-safety requirement is up to scratch, and funding travel to and from the festival.
Ingredients: 20-30 per cent
The cost of the food itself varies, depending on the type and quality of the ingredients, but it will typically be about the same as the festival fees that a trader pays.