The #EatDrinkFestival Abuja edition is the second event that That Green Tea experienced in a more official capacity thanks to the EDL team. The first coverage, #EatDrinkLagos can be found here
James Beard once said that food is our common ground, a universal experience (for everyone because we all eat) and this was brought to life at the Eat Drink Festival held in Abuja for the first time after being hosted in Lagos for the past five years. The event which saw the coming together of food vendors, mixologists, chefs, food enthusiasts, and bloggers had something for everyone who came to Harrow Park with an empty stomach and a full appetite.
Most vendors familiar with the Abuja festival spirit would say that “Abuja people come out late,” which they did. But few hours into the festival, crowds were gathering, holding conversations, and dancing to the music while the vendors were doing their very best, from setting up their stand to organizing their wares in the most eye-catching manner to make sure that everything went on smoothly in their stall. An interesting concept which most of them employed was the switching up of things with their menus.
While Waffle Stop stuck to something simple to give people an easier going and fun experience, Jaka’s Grill who has been playing out the dare of owning a food business for the past five month, used the opportunity to up his game by launching a full menu with new and exotic additions like extra delicious burgers which are so cute you could eat them whole.
For lovers of a sweet tooth, Buttercream Abuja brought their best sellers and most popular indulgence; my favorite was the banana bread which literary breaks down into several pieces of joy as you chew. Legal Tender Cocktails lived up to its name, a lawyer owned business, it gave us the sunny side up of things with drinks like a Beauty & The Beet, Mojito, Glow Up which were 100% non alcoholic and geared towards freshness, a healthy lifestyle, and tremendous benefits for your skin all at very affordable prices.
The interesting about the festival for me, apart from the cook-off, Chef Punshak’s demo, karaoke, and virtual reality pods was the cashless policy of the event.
Thanks to the introduction of wristbands, where all your monies are stored up, vendors and customers were saved the stress of exchanging of currencies, standing in queues and worst of all, looking for change! (We know how stressful that can be).
How far can your love of food take you? The answer is very far because it was surprising to see that some vendors such as Korede Spaghetti, Ette’s Barbeque came all the way from Lagos and boy, did they leave their mark. Korede, a photographer and dancer who when forced with the dilemma of having to choose between three passions, chose the stove, gave the attendees, spicy hot spaghetti and his special; Korede ponmo ( for you non-Nigerians, this is cow skin. Yes. Cow skin. Keep it pushing) sauce which came with a side of fresh fries.
Ette’s Barbeque would give the feel of home with roasted items such as plantain popularly known as Boli and yam in extra spicy sauce.
Everyone can say that they had fun in the event, mainly because there was something for everyone who showed up. If you wanted alcohol, there was the Crazy People’s Cocktails or Entrees Cocktails that came in pineapple or extreme colorful mixtures. If you wished for sugar and more sweetness, Ice Pops which sold out by the way and Yougurberry was your go-to stall.
Of course, there is no Nigerian event without the signature Jollof rice, which thanks to Corperate Jollof, wore a tie and pretty good shoes with its original taste and flavor. Pow, a PanAsian restaurant gave us a feel of what it meant to have intercontinental dishes such as Pow special fried rice which contained eggs and Szechuan chicken, which was spicy.
Not only did the festival allow people to network, but it also created the perfect ambiance for friends, loved ones, and families who needed a place to unwind and chill. Most attendees testified that they didn’t expect the festival to be so all out and they look forward to the next one, I know I do.
All images were captured with permission by Shade Olaoye for the blog and are therefore the property of That Green Tea.
All vendors mentioned are welcome to post this on their respective media channels.
For any enquires and collaborations, email us at contact@thatgreentea.com
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