The Big Cheese Festival left fans cheesed-off after not fulfilling promises to have a wide-selection of cheese and wine pairings. (iStock)
Customers have been left cheesed-off after a festival boasting “a selection of the UK’s finest artisan cheese, wine and port pairings” failed to live up to its promises.
A number of customers took to social media to call out the UK Big Cheese Festival for long lines and an alleged lack of cheese, calling the festival “rubbish” and saying there was “just mud & no cheese.”
One patron, Corrinne Lowry, told The Daily Meal she traveled several hours from her home in Essex and shelled out $35 each for her and her husband to attend the event.
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“There were only three stalls selling cheese and four selling hot cheese-related food,” she told The Daily Meal. “Far from adequate for a cheese festival. There were other stalls selling other things but the fact that these outnumbered the cheese stalls was ridiculous.”
Others at the festival took to Twitter and Facebook with similar complaints.
“Words can’t describe how bad this event was...Only 2 beers on offer in the tents. 2 actual cheese stores, and only 3/4 hot food cheese stalls. We would have been done within 30 mins if it wasn’t queuing for 45 mins for one of the stalls, with my other half passing out and being taken back to the ambulance to be checked over. Asked several times for water which was never provided. Shoes got absolutely caked in mud as well.”
“This event was a joke.. have requested a refund. There was just mud & no cheese,” one person wrote on the Big Cheese Festival’s Facebook page.
“Your event was a shambles The Big Cheese Festival you should be ashamed that you took money of these people including myself! There was bugger all there and you can’t really blame the weather because a lot of the vendors that you said were coming some of them have said they were never coming! You should refund everyone who you ripped off!”
Though Lowry and others have contacted the festival to request a refund, those running the event defended against any wrongdoing.
In a post on the Facebook page, the Big Cheese Festival wrote:
“We would like to express our sympathy toward some of our amazing cheese and cheesey Street Food Traders who were traveling to the city from across the country, and who due to adverse weather conditions and impassable roads, were unfortunately forced to abort their journeys today."
"Despite this, our cheese traders who were able to attend showed amazing dedication throughout the event, and did not fail to deliver, with food available right to the end," the statement continued. "We would like to offer everyone who purchased a ticket 50% discount to next years event.”
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Those who paid for the event were not pleased with the response and continued to demand refunds.
“We travelled 4 hours to come to the festival, three stalls selling cheese, two tents with some crap music and lots of mud cost us over £400 including accommodation and travel. We all deserve a refund! What did £22 a ticket get us?! A muddy space and a 30 minute queue for some over priced food, drinks were £5 each?!? Disgusting”
The festival has been compared to December’s Giant Cheeseboard Festival, which was coined the Fyre Festival of the UK.
Since receiving more backlash, the company has issued another Facebook post claiming to be “just as disappointed” as everyone who attended and requested people submit complaints to info@thebigcheesefestival.co.uk where they will be “individually assessed and… receive a full response within 14 days.”
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