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| Image courtesy of thepariskitchen.com |
Le Fooding, a French foodingguide in
France, decided to bring their Campfire Session
#2 to Brooklyn’s waterfront in
Williamsburg. I attended last year’s Campfire Session in
Manhattan
and the very first NYC Le Fooding event in 2009 in
Queens.
Both events were special and wonderfully organized bringing talented chefs
together in one space. Patrons were fed, entertained with music, and free to
roam around a beautiful art space. Le Fooding was an event that I became a huge
fan of. It was an event and organization that I believed in and was willing to
invest in. They always donated a portion of their proceeds to charity (Action
Against Hunger) and the vibe of the events were not for profit, but rather the
celebration of food and positive environment it could create.
Last year’s first Campfire Session was an intimate affair.
The number of tickets sold were minimal and the outdoor space it was held in
felt like a backyard. There was more than enough food to go around. Patrons got
seconds, even thirds, despite the strict ticket per serving allotted. The
musical guest was popular Norwegian crooner Sondre Lerche. It was an amazing
success. We ended the night with music, ginger ale and Jameson, and Van Leeuwen
Ice Cream.
This year’s campfire promised musical guest Mos Def and five
tastings which showcased the innovation of Brooklyn’s
food scene. It was promising and had an air of coolness. After all, Brooklyn itself had developed a bit of a reputation.
Artisanal, hipster, creative, new, and trendy are just a few words to describe
the “Brooklyn” scene.
The event turned out very different from previous years. There was a
strict guest list and the people manning the guest lists checking people in had
no idea what they were doing. Each line had a different list and each entrance
was left unmarked. Was one line VIP, for Mastercard users only, A-L, M-Z? The
world will never know. We were just lucky to pass through the gates after
receiving an apology for the process that took too long.
The event took place at the Williamsburg Flea Market. The
bad thing was that the flea market stayed open while Campfire Session #2 was
going on. It was confusing. Where we supposed to shop? The vendors looked bored
and out of place. Food lines snaked by each tent and overall the event looked
secondary to the flea and was cramped. Hosting Campfire Session #2 in the middle of the
Williamsburg Flea gave Le Fooding less of an importance. It didn't feel special
anymore and was more like a nighttime Smorgasburg, the daytime Saturday food
festival held in this very same location.
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Daniel Rose & Saul Bolton
Spring, France & Brooklyn Bangers, USA |
As for the food, it was tiny and too much of the same. I
guess Brooklyn is big on sausages because three
out of the five plates I tried that night were sausage. One of the booths
Mission Chinese ran out of tastings halfway through the event. I had to beg another
booth to accept my Mission Chinese ticket for a plate of food. Thank you
Brooklyn Bangers for being so understanding and delicious!
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| Choncho's Tacos |
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| Mile End |
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Model Chrissy Teigen
I wish John Legend were there to fill in the musical act performance. |
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| Grapefruit mousse by Pierre Herme |
Aside from the food aspect, Campfire Session really prides
itself on their musical guest. I was looking forward to Mos Def. Shortly
after I bought my ticket online, I got an email saying Mos Def would not be
there and Dave One of Chromeo would be filling in. My mistake was thinking
that Dave One would show up with a keyboard and sing Momma’s Boy but he was without
his other half. He stood there on stage and no one knew who he was. He should
have had a banner or an announcement but had nothing and we were all waiting for
something. Before we knew it the stage was being disassembled and we were being
kicked out. We were all waiting for the main act but little did we realize we
just witnessed it.
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| Dave One of Chromeo |
I left hungry and feeling ripped off. I imagine this was the
feeling people felt after Googa Mooga, an event I was totally satisfied with.
Then again, I didn’t pay $250 for my Googa Mooga ticket. I was perfectly fine
with waiting in line for an hour and spending $15 for Blue Ribbon fried
chicken.
I doubt I will go to another Le Fooding event in the future.
I’d save my time and sanity and just donate $15 to Action Against Hunger. Charity
shouldn’t suffer out of mistakes, nor should my ears and stomach.
