There are few things better than biting down on a warm, gooey burger, having some cheese drizzle down your chin, or feeling the flavors of well done meat and buns mingle in your mouth to create a heavenly experience. The third annual Nairobi Burger Festival started from 27 July to 5 August 2018. The week long burger fest brought together over 100 restaurants in Nairobi who were offering a 2 for 1 deals on burgers and burger combos. Michelle Slater, the General Manager at EatOut, said that the festival was supposed to be a great way for people to have memorable experiences around great food.
With so many people excited and participating in the week-long burger diet, it was a golden opportunity for the restaurants involved to showcase what they had to offer in terms of great food, ambience and service. This was also a time for them to take advantage of the free publicity they got when customers took pictures of their burgers and talked about their experiences online. While some restaurants were keen on this and had massive success, many made mistakes and ruined their reputations during the Nairobi Burger Week.
This is what one Twitter user had to say about the festival:
Dear outlets participating in #BurgerFest:
Either do it as you usually would, or don't do it at all.
Skimping on quality & quantity because it's 'free' is nonsense.
You're either committed to it, or leave.
Stop being cheapskates.Sincerely,
Burger Lover. #NBF2018— Marcus Olang' (@marcusolang) July 28, 2018
This sentiment was echoed by many as the week progressed. It is an unfortunate fact that some restaurants use food festivals like Nairobi Burger Week to skimp on quality and serve people really mediocre burgers. It seems that their reasoning is that since the consumer is getting an extra burger for free, then they should be grateful for anything they get. This year, many burger lovers refused to stand for it and called out the places they felt were selling mediocre burgers and had poor service. One of the restaurants that received a lot of backlash was Big Square after it became clear that the burgers they were serving looked nothing like the pictures on promotional posters.
Big Square’s burger fest offer is terrible 😂 Tungekula tu mkate. And it’s 850 for 2 😭 pic.twitter.com/ItMZJebWMl
— V_RB (@verbstract) July 27, 2018
On the other hand, Nairobi Burger Festival was a blessing in disguise for some of the restaurants as consumers got a chance to discover their fantastic burgers and overall great service. Some of the restaurants that really got to shine include Urban Gourmet Burger, Movenpick Hotel Nairobi and Coffee Casa. People couldn’t stop gushing about them online and their burgers which more than lived up to expectations.
https://twitter.com/lorna_kamau/status/1026132314676445186
The burgers a @MovenpickNRB Baluba restaurant are massive. Ate half and took home half waah & tasty #NBF2018 pic.twitter.com/ExzV0RqtKJ
— Ng'ash (@ngash254) August 1, 2018
“Food Festivals are meant to be a delicious and fun way for restaurants to showcase their expertise and in the process, earn newer customers and retain the loyalty of the existing ones.” – Canduh
It remains to be seen whether the participating restaurants in this year’s Nairobi Burger Festival achieved this or not.
Now that the burger week is over, here are a few meals you can make and carry to the office – Quick And Easy Ways To Make Your Meals A Little More Exciting
Featured image via www.kbc.co.ke
