India’s biggest food fest was in our not-so-tiny-anymore town of Pune in the last weekend of March, and in my opinion it was like a breath of fresh air in this dull, dry heat. There were quite a few goofups, but as a festival attendee I had a fun-filled 3 days that I know will get even better when Grubfest comes back with it’s second installation.
Here’s a quick summary of the good, bad and ugly –
GOOD – So much food!
It’s always fun to eat such a wide variety of food from all over the city, under one roof.
GOOD – Mexican Rodeo
80 bucks for a grilled chicken taco? Thank you, I will have 5 of those. 200 bucks for a burrito might sound expensive, but one look at 10 inches of that awesomeness and you will know you have invested your money in some GOOD food. I can’t WAIT for them to start their food truck here in Pune (in Viman Nagar btw)
GOOD – Vibes
Sprawling lawns dedicated to food stalls, a music stage and a bar with enough space left to lounge around in the grass- this was what I’d prefer at a fest, a relaxed vibe with some good music, good food and great company.
GOOD- MMA fight
This was the crowd-puller on day 2 of the festival. While I am not a big fan of watching people fight, it was nice to see people cheering on for their favorite players. In fact I know many who had only come for this 🙂
GOOD – SummerHouse Cafe
Summer House Cafe is all set to open in Pune, and I can’t wait for it! The location looks great, the bar has some great reviews in Delhi and I love the fact that they support Indie music talent. Let’s see what Summer House Cafe has in store for us when they get here.
GOOD – Live screening of Ind vs Aus
Day 3 of the fest saw some great energy, great vibe and a brilliant Ind vs Aus match. It almost felt like a huge family was sitting together and watching the match in their living room. Loved the crowd!
BAD- Nothing new on display
Except for Mexcian Rodeo, I doubt there was any new brand left to discover. Finding the same brands everywhere tends to get a little boring.
BAD- Inefficent promotion
There was a lot of potential when it came to promotion of this event. Pune is a price-minded market that functions on word of mouth and influencer marketing. Keeping this basic fact in mind, a lot could have been done with the way the event was promoted.
Well, this was a great experience to be honest. And teething difficulties are obvious. I am sure back when NH7 started it might have been something like this. I really hope they don’t lose heart and come back with season 2 🙂