By Christy Anyanwu
Two years after it was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual food and drinks festival organised by Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) returned recently and provided an opportunity for people to socialise.
The event came alive this year as Lagosians packed into the venue to catch fun, good food, good music and master classes.
Children also had a swell time in a well-fitted play area designed to add another layer of excitement for them and keep them meaningfully engaged.
Tagged “Authentic Nigerian food,” the free-to-attend three-day festival featured cooking master classes of cuisines chosen from all around the world and over 150 free retail stalls showcasing everything from the best of Nigeria’s street food to bite-sized gourmet treats and fresh farm produce from the farmers’ market.
Aimed at promoting small and medium-scale enterprises, GTCO’s chief executive officer, Segun Agbaje, said: “The primary objective of the GTCO Food and Drink Festival is to showcase our diversity as a people while delivering a sumptuous culinary experience to food enthusiasts across the continent.”
Speaking with participants at the event, Jennifer Adewakun of SV Lunch Box & Cocktails applauded the initiative. She said it would encourage entrepreneurs, giving them the opportunity to showcase their brand and help small enterprises in general.
“The sale has been amazing. The first day, April 30, was a bit chilled but today, May 1, has been so good, so busy. It has been back-to-back sales, I have been on my feet all day. It is awesome,” she said.
Anita Nwoye, CEO, Nma Abacha, was busy with customers as she served abacha, ugba, fish, ponmo and fish delicacies to her customers.
“We have been having cool sales from the first day till the end,” she said as she attended to more customers.
Temitope Oriola, CEO, Tigernut Republic, said the event went well, adding that, since the first day, it was “good sales, good networking, meeting our old customers, meeting new customers and creating new customers.
“So, it has been a triangular experience. I have been coming here since 2017. This is our third time at the fair.”
A customer, Ifeyinwa Odiama, attended the event to cool off with her children. According to her, the children were really excited.
She said: “They had a good time. My son kept telling me, Mummy thank you, mummy, thank you. My three-year-old daughter did not want to go home. She enjoyed the motor ride and was crying as we set to go home.
“The organisers really tried. After three hours, the children vacate the arena for other children to come in. I love the security at the entrance. Tags were given to guardians and you presented the tag to take your child out of the playground.”
Nnenna Don-Okonkwo simply said the outing with her children to the festival was really fun: “My children had much fun at the playground. They just can’t stop talking about the outing. My daughter boasted to her classmates that she had so much fun at the venue.”
Omolara Ajayi, another attendee, extolled the organisers for the beautiful event.
She said, “This year is my first time in the food and drink festival. The planning is awesome. The children’s play section is a mini Disneyland and the master class is fantastic.
“However, the only grey area here is the fact that everything is pretty expensive.
“Considering the fact that the stalls are free, enterpreneurs shouldn’t have hiked the prices of their commodities for no just cause. Organisers should checkmate the sellers next year.”