New ideas pull in record Taste crowd with visitor numbers up nearly 20 per cent

The Taste of Tasmania has attracted a record crowd this year, with the official attendance figures showing 260,000 people flocked to the festival.

Taste of Tasmania festival director Brooke Webb was thrilled by the attendance figures. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

THE Taste of Tasmania has attracted a record crowd this year, with the official attendance figures showing that 260,000 people flocked to the food and drinks festival.

But the 18 per cent increase on last year’s 220,000 visitors may not be enough to secure the festival’s future, which Hobart City Council will determine after considering a report on the event next week.

“We don’t have a clear path forward on this yet,” festival director Brooke Webb said.

“It is really up to council if they are proceeding with the festival or not. It isn’t my decision. [But] I just feel so happy and proud of this festival. I have done my job and I have some really awesome ideas about where to take this festival next year, but the framework [for its future] needs to be very clear from council.”

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Some Hobart aldermen have expressed concerns about the cost of the festival and whether the funding model is sustainable. While the financial data including stallholders’ takings has not yet been finalised, Ms Webb said she was thrilled by the attendance figures.

“It feels good. The closest the festival has come [to this year’s attendance figures] was 253,000 in 2013,” she said.

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DAY 1 | DAY 2 | RACE TO TASTE | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7

Ms Webb, who is contracted to direct the festival until 2020, attributed its success partly to two new features: Greener Grass, a rotating showcase of new and emerging producers, and the Culinary Kitchen.

“These were both really important to me because they were about engaging with an audience that had perhaps left the Taste about six years ago because the brand and the integrity of the Taste had diluted,” she said.

“I felt like we were speaking not just to an interstate audience who were getting a hands-on experience, but also the local audience and they are the hardest to bring back.

“The food offerings at Greener Grass were more reflective of what’s going on in Tasmania in the food community and the culinary program had a combination of nationally celebrated people but also some of Tasmania’s best kept secrets. I felt like we spoke to a new audience.”

She said directing the Taste had been a “hugely challenging” labour of love.

“I really wanted to inject my heart and soul into it,” she said. “I will always fight for this festival because it has the power and potential to proudly showcase Tasmania.”