Review: BBC Summer Good Food Show – NEC Birmingham
I’d like to thank Ms Gourmet Chick for the opportunity to visit the Summer BBC Good Food Show and BBC Gardeners World event at the NEC in Birmingham, having won tickets on the Gourmet Chick blog last week.
This morning (having slept in a little longer than planned) we headed north, full of anticipation, and looking forward to getting some inspiration for dishes to create this summer.
The layout in the exhibition halls had changed from previous years and the aisles seemed narrower, with more space being dedicated to the theatre events, where celebrity chefs (and wannabe chefs) were demonstrating their skills, or advertising their sponsors latest products. There were very few free seats when we arrived and by lunchtime there were rows of people up to 4 or 5 deep trying to get a glimpse of what was going on.
There seems to be a surge of ‘spice’ based cuisines at present, with many of the stalls selling pre-packaged curry’s, chutneys and asian accompaniments to spice up any meal. Some of the stalls screamed of mass production and there was not the level of care and creativity in the presentation of many products, compared to the Foodies Festival at Hampton Court a few weeks ago.
Most show specials were realistically priced, but some stands were hard to reach due to the sheer volume of people trying to push and shove to get prime position for a freebie taster of a product, not helped by the number of pushchairs, prams, wheely trolleys and even dogs (*these were not Guide Dogs, just simple family pets), that you had to navigate around (with the aim of keeping both shins intact), whilst trying to stay upright – no mean feat when you are being barged from behind by walking stick weilding grannies.
Escaping the mayhem we headed for the considerably less densely populated) (and much quieter) nature and gardening arena, where the RSPB volunteers were holding court with less than 10 people (in a 50+ seat capacity theatre), and the Bee Keepers were giving demonstrations on hive maintenance and honey extraction methods
Top Tip: Adopt a Beehive
A third of the food we eat requires insect based pollination and bees are dying out across the world. The worthy cause of the day (in our opinion) is the Adopt a Beehive scheme being run by the British Beekeepers Association, where for £29.50 you can adopt a beehive for a year (as we have just done)
We finished our visit to the show with a stroll through the show gardens before heading for home.
The drive home offered me the chance to reflect on the show and some of todays experiences. If I had paid to attend (the going rate was £14+ per adult) I would have been disappointed, as the quality was not as high as previous years and other events I have attended recently. I’m not sure that the exhibitors in certain parts of the show are getting value for money as some people were ignoring stands completely (or could not get to them) due to the lines of people queuing for freebies from the stand next door – an unfortunate situation to be in.
Should there be a charge to attend an event?
Should there be a charge to attend an event as a consumer, where the main purpose of attending is to taste and buy products (many that can be bought in a supermarket or from the high street)?. The exhibitors have already paid to be at the event, and will recoup the cost of their stall through sales. I would happily pay to attend a workshop, or presentation that is of interest to me but increasingly the events are no more than a chance to put a salesperson in front of you, rather than as a pretty picture on a label or a review in a magazine or on a website.
I think i’ll stick to attending more of the specialist shows and boutique markets, leaving the headline annual events for the masses, who are brave enough to dodge the prams and wheely trolleys or who are desperate to catch a glimpse of a celebrity strutting their stuff.
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Comments
The link to the Adopt a Beehive site is http://adoptabeehive.co.uk/
It’s interesting how the ongoing food culture, championed by celebrity chefs, is being monetized to a level that the whole cottage industry aspect of it is starting to suffer.
Makes me wonder how many of the people crowded round these stands really have a genuine interest in food and the pursuit of a developed pallet, compared to how many want Jamie Oliver to sign their breasts 
You raise a good point – apparently these type of shows are very expensive for producers to attend so I wonder where all the money goes from the ticke tsales? Perhaps the NEC is a very expensive venue to hire out. Probably my favourite food festival is the Taste of London – but that is even more expensive than The Good Food Show to attend. Good to hear your write up anyway and hear you put the tickets to good use!
Article referenced from http://www.lovefood.com/journal/view/10276/foodfest-fever
Thanks for picking us up Joe
i have just come back from the summer food show.and i must say i was disappointed.we could not get near to any stalls.we were pushed and shoved and those trolleys that people use are dangerous.hitting our legs and nearly fulling over them.i paid extra for tickets to watch masterchef.only to see everyone else could watch also.my patner has alway wanted to go to the food show. but we left after 2 hours, couldnt take the pushing and shoving anymore.we will not be going again. it was a birthday present to my patrner.and i feel it was just like an indoor market.
We have been to the last 3 shows and were very dissapointed in this years . The layout was different did not like it at all. Not many wine or beer exhibitors this year, and where was the beer tasting area , last year we paid 7.00 to try the different beers really enjoyed it , but nothing this year.
This has been really helpful- as a potential exhibitor. This sort of review helps a decision given the relative high cost of exhibiting.