“We must sell farm-to-fork to Sacramentans first,” were words spoken by Mike Testa, senior vice president of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau last spring. At one of the monthly Farm-to-Fork organizing meetings, Testa explained how it took Austin 10-15 years to become the “Live Music Capital,” and it would take at least a decade for us to get the same recognition as the “Farm to Fork Capital.” The overall, long-term goal of the F2F movement is to increase tourism to our region by promoting us as a destination for food and agriculture tourists – agritourism. That’s why the SCVB was put in the lead position – to spread the word to the nation and the world that we are worth a visit. The first goal, though, was that we had to sell the message to the locals first.
As a local who attended a few of the key F2F Week events, I have come away with a lot of thoughts on how well the week went in regard to the two goals – short-term/local and long-term/international. In part two, I will talk about issues that still need to be considered.
Tower Bridge dinner wows
I have to applaud the restaurants, chefs and their staff, first and foremost. While the Tower Bridge dinner was the most visible and talked about event, it wasn’t the only thing the chefs were up to. Every restaurant had their own F2F activities, events, specials and/or menus that kept their own staffs very busy. What the public didn’t know was that the chefs were having monthly (and probably weekly at the end) meetings to work to coordinate the finale bridge dinner. They had been meeting for at least six months discussing every detail on how to pull it off. They were very well organized, led by Patrick Mulvaney and his catering team.
At the bridge dinner on Sunday night, I asked Mulvaney who had made the sausage for the second course. He explained to me and my dinner companions that it had been agreed upon months ago that no one, chefs or purveyors, would take any credit for any particular dish. They weren’t to say “I made the sausage,” or, “The tomato cucumber salad was my responsibility.” Instead, credit was shared with everyone because it was a massive team effort to pull off the event. And even though it was obvious that it was Passmore Ranch sturgeon or Ginger Elizabeth macarons, it was this “camaraderie” response that really impressed me.
The food at the bridge dinner was fantastic. How could it have been otherwise? There were 15 different appetizers, a delicious four-course meal, and an array of desserts and coffee to finish it off. But what I really loved was the staffing of the event. Every server I encountered was cheerful, friendly and attentive. Any request I made was promptly seen to. At one point I dropped my napkin and not one but two servers ran off to get me a fresh one. Guess that only makes sense, since it fell onto a roadway versus a dining-room floor. Everyone, from the chefs to the bussers, seemed thrilled to be a part of the event, and that made it even nicer for the diners.
Free festival for all
It was the free festival on the Capitol Mall that had the most reach. That was the event for the masses, especially those who had no time or money to attend some of the other limited-ticket events during the week. In the end there were thousands of people who showed up to sample food, look at exhibits, talk to farmers and enjoy the activities.
I talked to Susan, my friend from Hanks Hens & All Things Good. She said that she was getting a lot of positive feedback from people that she talked to at her booth. People were liking the educational aspects as well as enjoying the many food samples being given out, mostly by the grocery stores.
This was the same thing I heard when I talked to people taking a break on the grassy center median. I was asking people a lot of questions about the festival and the F2F publicity (more in part two), and everyone seemed really happy that they learned something. One woman learned that cheeses she always attributed to goat’s milk could also be made with cow’s milk. Another learned about some new types of produce and farms that she had no idea were so close to Sacramento. Both agreed that the farm focus was refreshing, and one said that she was already looking forward to attending again next year.
Room for improvement
First time events never go off without a hitch. There are always things that you figure out need to be changed for next year. In regard to the festival, the biggest complaint heard over and over was the need for more food vendors. The seven or so food trucks/vendors just couldn’t keep up with the approximate 25,000 attendees. Over at the east end of the mall, both Fuzion Eatz and Wicked Wich were sold out midafternoon. A friend told me she waited an hour from the time she got in line to the time she got her food.
The beer and wine drinkers were happy that they could roam the entire area with their drinks instead of being trapped in a beer garden. They did have complaints, though. Lack of signage was a big issue, especially since the setup required them to show ID, and then get the wristband, and then buy drink tickets before they go and get the beer or wine. Three stops to get a drink is pretty tedious.
One complaint I got from some of the booths was the inability to serve food without going through considerable hassle with the health department. Hanks Hens had some popcorn, and I had said it would have been nice for them to have popcorn samples to give out. Susan said the hurdles with the health department were too much to deal with. While I understand the need for food safety, it seems like there could have been some sort of compromise or solution for the festival. My suggestion? Maybe have a Grand Tasting Tent, done at other festivals around the country, and thereby have the whole tent certified versus the individual booths.
Locals versus tourists in part two.
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