Hungry Showgoers rate the food at the Royal Adelaide Show
Would you pay $16 for a foot-long dagwood dog? Or $18 for a turkey leg? Read our reviews before you head to the Show to see which snacks are worth the hefty price tags.
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Paying a bit extra for the smorgasbord of fast food on offer at the Royal Adelaide Show is an expected part of the experience.
But after two years of the pandemic forcing the beloved event’s cancellation, families have been taken aback by the sky-high prices of basic funfair favourites.
While organisers have defended the prices, saying they are up to vendors and typical of what you pay at any festival, Showgoers The Advertiser spoke to on Monday were finding them hard to swallow.
Ashley Telford, 28, of Seacombe Gardens and Emma Sjoberg 29, of Morphett Vale, were shocked to hand over $10 just for a box of seasoned hot chips.
“I wouldn’t pay $10 if I wasn’t at the show for them,” Ms Sjoberg said.
Take a look at reviews of some of the show’s popular treats and decide for yourself.
Wonderdog (foot-long dagwood dog)
Location: World’s Longest Fries between the
grandstands
Reviewer: Sophie Penberthy, 19, Goodwood
Ms Penberthy’s dad treated her to the huge Wonderdog. The Dagwood Dog
looked like a caveman club in her hand but she gave it her best shot. She
said she got a big bite of dough in her first taste.
“It’s not too bad – pretty tasty, actually,” she said.
In the second bite, she got some hot dog, which she described as “pretty
bad”.
“I’m not sure if I’d be able to finish the whole thing because it is quite a
lot, so I think by that standard it’s pretty good,” Ms Penberthy said.
Grilled fish of the day
Catch Up! in Kingsway Gourmet section
What’s included: Two pieces of grilled fish, chips and salad $18
Reviewer: Kelly Wang, 32, Burnside
Ms Wang was on the hunt for a good fish and chips at the show and thought she would try Catch Up! in the Kingsway Gourmet food section. For $18 she received two rather small pieces of grilled fish, a handful of chips, and a salad with no dressing.
“I was expecting at least a bit more,” she said.
The Burnside resident was disappointed in the serving size and taste of her fish and chips, rating the value a 5/10 and the taste only a 4/10.
Taste: 4/10, Value for money: 5/10
Texas Fries
Location: World’s Longest Fries in-between the grand stands
What’s included: About a dozen long fries with cheese, bacon and onions $15
Reviewers: Brooklyn, 10 and mum Marie Allen, 43, Morphett Vale
Brooklyn was super excited to order the “world’s longest fries”, but his mum always expected the expensive price tag.
“As always with the Show, it’s more expensive,” Ms Allen said.
The mum and son rated the chips a 5/10 for value for money and a high 8/10 for taste.
“They’re better than normal chips,” Brooklyn said.
Ms Allen said although the chips were expensive, they were a treat for Brooklyn since the show has been off for a couple of years. If she made them at home, Ms Allen said they would cost about $4 to make.
Taste 8/10, Value for money 5/10
Chips on a stick
Location: Chips On Stick outside the Wayville Pavillion\
What’s included: Potato chips and seasoning twirled on a stick $8
Reviewers: Misty Dyke, 17 and John Nikoloudis, 18, Port Pirie
A classic treat at the show, iconic chips on a stick. At this vendor they were $8 a pop with your choice of chicken salt, salt and vinegar, BBQ, Hot N Spicy or garlic butter.
Ms Dyke and Mr Nikoloudis thought they would give it a try, and ended up loving it. The pair gave their chips on a stick an 8.5/10 for both value for money and taste.
Having travelled from Port Pirie to attend the show, they said they has expected to pay $8 for them.
“In Port Pirie they are more expensive than this,” Mr Nikoloudis said.
Mr Nikoloudis said if they had made the chips at home, they would probably have cost $1.50.
Taste 8.5/10, value for money 8.5/10
Fairy Floss
Location: Cotton Candy and Ice Creamery Co in-between the grand stands – a stick of fairy floss $8
What’s included: A stick of blue fairy floss $8
Reviewers: Madison, 8, Isabella, 6, St Peters.
Eight year old Madison and her six-year-old sister Isabella were treated to a giant fairy floss bundle on a stick from their dad, Ewen Reid. Both girls were all too keen to tuck into the giant blue cloud of sugar.
Mr Reid paid $16 for both girls to have their fairy floss.
“Considering the Show is not that often, it’s OK,” Mr Reid said.
Madison and Isabella rated their fairy floss a 10/10 but their dad wasn’t so keen, rating it 6/10 for value for money and 7/10 for taste.
Taste 7/10, Value for money 6/10
Seasoned Fries
Location: Greek Street in Kingsway Gourmet section
What’s included: Burger box filled with seasoned fries $10
Reviewers: Ashley Telford 28, Seacombe Gardens, Emma Sjoberg 29, Morphett Vale
Both Ms Telford and Ms Sjoberg were shocked to pay $10 for a box of chips but said they were “decent”.
“I wouldn’t pay $10 if I wasn’t at the Show for them,” Ms Sjoberg said.
Ms Telford said although the chips were good, they were not worth the 10-minute wait. She said she prefers a crunchy chip and these chips were quite soggy.
“The taste is actually really nice,” Ms Telford said.
The chips tasted “a bit different” and had a lot of seasoning, but could of been more crispy and had more seasoning according to Ms Telford.
Taste 7/10, Value for money 7/10
Turkey Leg
Location: Woodfire BBQ across from the Wayville Pavillion
Reviewer: Jack Bennett, 25, Seaton
Taking a carnivorous approach to the Show, Mr Bennett decided to tuck into a turkey leg. Advertised as a 500g leg “to share”, Mr Bennett said it was “tasty, the sauce is good”.
“You’re only at the Show once, right?” Mr Bennett said.
At $18, Mr Bennett said the turkey leg was pricey and that the vendors would be making “good money”.
Mr Bennett said at home, he could get a whole turkey for $18.
Taste 8.5/10, Value for money 7/10
The Show’s marketing manager Jordan Philp said food prices at the Show were up to the operators of the stalls and food vans
“(They) are not something people are unused to,” Ms Philp said, adding there were plenty of ways people could save at the Show, including by bringing their own food.
But Ms Philp said about 90 per cent of people do buy food at the Show and that the prices were typical of what they would pay at other major events and festivals.
She said the food vendors and the Show industry as a whole has been heavily hit by the pandemic and it was important for people to support them now they were back.
Organisers confirmed that stallholders were charged $360/sqm for the nine-day duration of the event.
So a stallholder with a 15sqm site would pay a total of $5400 in rent, or $600 a day.
That’s the equivalent of, say, 60 of the $10 boxes of seasoned chips.
But vendors have other costs including, of course, that of the food itself, as well as their staff.
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