Lahore Eat 2017, the food festival, which was initially scheduled for February 10-12, had to be postponed to February 17-19, amidst security threats in Lahore. These threats were actually substantiated when a suicide attack took place on the 13th of February at Mall Road Lahore. Was Lahore Eat the possible target of this suicide bomber? I posed this question to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Security for Lahore, Abadit Nisar, and he replied, “There was a threat.”
As expected, after the bombing, Lahore Eat was again postponed and did not take place on the 17th of February at Jillani park. The Lahore Police and the District Administration weren’t ready to allow such a public gathering to take place in an open space such as the Jillani Park.
The weather plays an important role in a food festival’s success or failure. The previous Lahore Eat, in 2016, took place in February - when the weather was nice during the day. Food and hot weather just don’t get along too well. Lahore Eat’s organisers were not able to announce the new dates and venue up until the end of March. And that was worrisome for the eateries who have already paid the organisers in full for a spot at the festival. The weather was getting hot. Hence, some of them pulled out, deciding not to be a part of the festival. Other eateries were also demanding a refund. Time was running out for the organisers.
Horeya Asmat Ali's performance with the dhol and the accompanying dhamal proved popular
Food and hot weather just don't get along too well
In a surprising move, somehow, they were able to book the Fortress Stadium ground for the event. It was surprising because no public event has taken place at that ground for as long as I can remember. It’s a good venue because it is well secured - after all, it falls in the Cantonment area, guarded by the Military Police.
So, finally, Lahore Eat 2017 started on the 31st of March.
It was slow to start off, as the weather was too hot for people to stand in the open during the day time. People started showing up around 9 pm. Usually, the first day starts off slowly. That’s normal.
To begin with, i tried Cosa Nostra’s chicken cutlet sandwich with caper aioli, it just tasted funny. It gave me a suspiciously sour taste - a couple of bites were all I could take. I was concerned about the quality. It’s hard to manage food items in such heat and that too in the open. Every stall had the facility for a refrigerator, but it wasn’t enough. “The main issue in this event is the weather. it’s hard to preserve food in such heat and we don’t have enough storage facility as required. If the weather is pleasant, only then can people get to enjoy the food”, I was told by Faisal, the restaurant manager of La Atrium.
"I think it was more about advertising the brand of the food stall than the food itself. People (restaurants) should make it worth eating as well!"
Horeya Asmat Ali’s performance with dhol was the highlight of the day. Her dhol performance and dhamal by one of the crew members added some real Punjabi taste to the event.
On Saturday and Sunday, people started pouring in. With huge numbers, the event really took off on Saturday and it got almost impossible to get in on Sunday. People waited for 2-3 hours in traffic to enter Fortress Stadium, and on Sunday they had to close the big entry gate to the event location because (predictably) the stags were trying to push in with the families. And that to me is a testament to the popular impression that “Lahoris just love their food”. They’ll do anything to enjoy some good food with family.
Ali Azmat entertained the crowd on Saturday. Let’s face it. You give Lahoris a tune to dance to and they’ll not hold back.
Most of the eateries left satisfied with the financial outcome of the event - they had to restock their inventories on Saturday and Sunday. For them, the response was great. “We’ve received a good response from customers at the event. It was a success for us sales-wise”, I was told by Hammad, the owner of Chilli Chutney.
As with other recent events, security remained a dominant concern for Lahore Eat 2017
In the 2016 edition of Lahore Eat, one of the success stories was the emergence of Awesamosas - which later went on to establish a restaurant in Gulberg. Awesamosas’ co-owner Seemi Sani said, “The event was great for us, although the stall mapping wasn’t right. We were given a slot at the other end of the entry gate, which divided the stalls and made it hard for people to walk all the way to the other side of the ground. Still, our sales were satisfactory. Weather is an important factor - this event in the winter can achieve more success.”
Nadia Zahid, Executive Associate at the ARY Digital Network in Dubai and Vice President Operations for Newsweek Middle East, is a food enthusiast and she was at Lahore Eat with friends and family. Such were her views on the whole affair: “I liked the ambience and the idea of the festival, which was to gather people together to just come and enjoy food. The food was overrated. I tried almost everything but there were not many items to talk home about. The setup could’ve been better, instead of scattering the food stalls at one end and some on the other end. It might have been better to keep it close by. It was difficult to take someone around who is on a wheelchair. No arrangements were made for people with special needs. This needs to be taken into consideration. The food overall could’ve been improved. I think it was more about advertising the brand of the food stall than the food itself. People (restaurants) should make it worth eating as well!”
So, here is the deal: the event was a success overall because people made it into a success. As stated earlier, Lahoris just like the idea of a family outing with multiple restaurants at their service. Lahoris waited for hours to get to the event, but they still made it. I am sure they’ll come again, despite all the odds. It’s the organisers’ responsibility to make sure that the restaurants are chosen carefully, and their stalls are equipped to serve the people with the highest possible quality in food. One way of doing that is by getting feedback from the visitors at the event. And a food festival in hot weather is a big turn off!
For the people who visit such events, please listen to the traffic police and other administration: they are there to help you. I was able to enter the Fortress Stadium in 15 minutes because I followed a traffic warden’s instructions to go to the next door of the stadium, which was not crowded at all. He kept shouting and requesting people to take their cars to gate number 5, but no one was listening to him. Eventually, that poor traffic warden left the spot in anger.
I hope this event gets better in coming years. And I hope Lahoris get to enjoy actual good food at it.
Waqas Habib Rana can be reached on Twitter at @Waqas464
