On Saturday Helen(a) invited me to join her at ‘Taste of Dublin’, provided I drove. The Taste gig was held in Iveagh Gardens just off Harcourt St. Even if you have no interest in food, it was fabulous from an anthropological perspective.
The Tottering Tasters
Women of a certain age, who recently completed a wine course and wanted to test their tasting skills, aka get pissed on free booze. Generally they moved with extraordinary slowness, petrified they would miss out on a free drink, but the second a chair was vacated they would start sprinting like Olympic Nigerians to claim the free seat.
The Eco Baggers
I have never seen so many Anya Hinchmarch “I’m not a plastic bag” in one place. I almost spent 22c on a real plastic bag, just to scribble “I’m a plastic bag” on it, but figured I would anger the eco Gods and end up facing some type of organic vegetable firing squad – healthy but messy.
The Foodie
Generally a man, but a very thin one, wearing cords and pushing a buggy containing a child eating a rice cake. He would taste everything very slowly and then list all the ingredients. His main catch phrase was:
“Gary Rodes / Kevin Dundon / Gordon Ramsay has become very commercial”.
The Chapter One and Bon Appétit stands were wedged, presumably because it was one of the few opportunities that southsiders would get to sample food produced north of the river. (Mohammed and the food mountain analogy)
The best fun of the day, from a viewing perspective, was generally after the cooking demonstrations. You could watch hoards of well heeled people stampeding to sample the free food. Famine victims would have behaved with more dignity. People launched cocktail sticks at each other in a pitched tent battle to skewer the last piece of chicken. I know a recession is meant to be approaching, but who knew times were so hard? (More on that topic in the next post.)
I can’t comment on the rest of the event as I ended up dropping Alice like into the O’Brien’s wine tent and emerged a few hours later dazed, bewildered and unable to drive. It will be a while before I am offered the “Driving Bitch Daisy” job again.
Assuming you are very drunk, in a dark room and squinting - a lot. Email me on Irishflirtysomething at hotmail.com
June 20th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
What is it about freebies? Well-heeled toffs and madams who could afford a six-course meal from their small change always pile in to these things to get their bit of free nosh. Even if it’s inedible they’ll stuff it down. I tend to be the opposite - anything that’s free, I smell a rat instantly (sales pitch, hidden charges etc) and steer well clear.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Freebies seem to alter brainwaves and turn mild-mannered little old ladies into raging maniacs. I almost got trampled at an event where I was giving out free t-shirts.
And I work for a millionaire who admits to picking pennies up off the street.
Where has dignity gone (she says, realising that she has in fact turned into her mother).
June 20th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I couldn’t get around my supermarket last week because they decided to offer free chicken drum sticks and the
linescrum of vultures blocked two aisles. Still I have a freebie to look forward to next week. I’m glad it’s within cycling distance.June 20th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Unbelievable. I expect it’s because food given free and eaten off a cocktail stick doesn’t count on their Atkins or South Beach or whatever.
Ooh, did you see Ice Cream Ireland’s stand??
June 20th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
“Gary Rodes / Kevin Dundon / Gordon Ramsay has become very commercial”.
Isn’t that the whole idea? Man cannot live by food alone - he needs money. To buy food or whatever. DVDs?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I worked at the Galway races and the only people who asked me to “throw in a few racecards” were those getting in for free and pockets buldged with wads of betting money. If anywhere provides free tea and coffee you can gauge how rich someone is by how many cups they drink. The really rich take tea and coffee!!
June 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Nick - no such thing as free lunch then!
Dis - the pennies is the worst tight story I have heard in a while
Text - what freebie?
Eng - missed most stands due to O’Briens tent!
Primal - you could live by the good life theory?
Skint - couldn’t agree more, the richer they are the meaner they are.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Currently on holiday, where the main restaurant is buffet stylee for breakfast and dinner. It is amazing how “help yourself” transcends in to piled high plates, rude queuing techniques and poor chefs behind the counters gazing in disbelief at the greed of their customers.
Must go and shower to get ready for tonights debacle.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
yes welconme to the real world rich people like freebies and second hand clothes thats why they are rich…. You noveau’s will soon learn but it will be too late for you and you willhave to wear your laboutins 2 days in a row. Recession whoppee that is the social leveller. wannebees will be left out side….