The second year of FOOD FEST in the park, despite the unfavorable weather, attracted almost 7,000 people to Trenčianske Teplice during the weekend of September 7 - 8. Dozens of brands operating on the Slovak and Czech markets presented themselves at the gastronomic festival. In one place, visitors found food trucks, local restaurants, street food specialties inspired by various world gastronomy, as well as gluten free and vege dishes.

Eleven food trucks, mobile restaurants on wheels, offered a cross-section of street food dishes that are inspired by cuisines from around the world. The festival brought burgers, hot dogs, tacos, tortillas, fries, sandwiches, the Sicilian national dish arancini, American gumbo soup, Jamaican jerk pork or a Canadian specialty called Poutine. It is based on crispy home fries, a special fresh steamed cheese according to a Canadian recipe, and the whole thing is topped with gravy sauce of turkey meat, vegetables and herbs. In addition to foreign gastronomy, there were also traditional Slovak dishes. Visitors could thus enjoy home-made šúľans, legendary buns from Zbojská or tassels. The festival also included vege and gluten free dishes - guacamole tortilla, potato-pumpkin pancake, tofu burger or vege hotdog.

Seven street food stalls and nine local vendors offered waffles, waffles, sweet and savory tortini, raw candies, popcorn, caramel cream and chocolate spreads, vegetable sauces, fruit and herb syrups or honey directly from the beekeeper. Visitors could even taste a unique bryndza waffle or fruit chilly dips. The event also included alcoholic and non-alcoholic lemonades, coffee, beer specialties, various types of wine, burčiak and even a tapped live kombucha. The official water of the event was the natural mineral water Fatra.

Two restaurants also brought their offer to the FOOD FEST in the park. Kursalon Trenčianske Teplice has prepared slow-roasted shredded pork shoulder, pork cheek perkelt, goat cheese baked with meadow honey and popular semolina balls for visitors. The festival also included grilled trout and venison goulash.

FOOD FEST in the park also had its own merch. As a souvenir, visitors could take away cheerful colored socks, as well as other than with the theme of food.

The festival took place in the beautiful surroundings of the spa park of Trenčianske Teplice, directly under the treetops. However, the issue of weather is also closely related to this. "We deal with the weather as organizers during the whole preparations, but a week before the festival we watched really intensively how the forecast developed. It didn't look good for us at all, so we decided to provide a covered chill out zone, " said the organizer from Cultura, oz, Zuzana Danechová.

The organizers have decided to build the festival on an eco-friendly concept this year as well. Thanks to the partner Metro and its endowment fund Pontis, the food was served on compostable dishes made from wheat bran, sugar cane, palm leaves or wood. Drinks were served in backed glasses, there were separation zones in the area and lectures from Bezobalis were also prepared. The basics of the idea of Zero Waste were discussed and the topic of plastics was also introduced. Visitors could hear about the facts, but also about the myths that arise around plastics.

"In two days, almost 7,000 people came to the festival and the park had a really great atmosphere. We are very happy that we approached young people, families with children, but also older visitors with this concept, and we also enjoyed positive reactions from the sellers themselves, " added Zuzana Danechová.

The event was held with the support of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic. The project was supported by the Green Eyes grant program, which forms part of the Green County project.

Source: Zuzana Bulková, marketing manager, CULTURA oz