European Food Festival – #CokeWithFood.

Food festivals are everywhere nowadays. I mean, we're not complaining. It's just a fact that every once in a while (usually once or twice a month) Green Path or Independence Arcade sees huge crowds of people swarming into its vicinity in an attempt to eat to their hearts’ content.

And while most food festivals seem to have the same kind of food involved (vadei, pani puri, BBQ meats), it's not every day that you come across a street food festival that gives everyone a chance to binge on just one variety of food at its best. This is where the European Food Festival comes in.

The Food Festival

Taking a rather different turn to the norm, the European Food Festival that took place on the 6th October allowed everyone who was in and around Colombo Racecourse to go all out at over 15 stalls in various ways to experience European street cuisine all in one place.

Presented by the ‘European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL)’, the European Street Food Festival brought the sights and flavours of the European culinary scape to life on island ground. The food festival was indeed a fusion of European delectables crafted by gourmet professionals, in keeping with the traditions and cultures of countries across the globe. This is in fact, their second rendition of this.

Taking place at the ‘Colombo Racecourse’, the Festival served up a curated line-up of everything from mouth-watering savouries and sweets to traditional classics and gastronomic street food. Every foodie could tuck into a smorgasbord of European culinary served at its best at this food festival.

The involvement of Coca-Cola, the #1 best-selling beverage around the world, and also the Platinum Sponsor for the event, made certain that their involvement meant that everyone had an absolute blast of a time! Sticking to their mission of "inspiring moments of optimism and happiness", the vibrant Coca-Cola stall made sure that no one left empty-handed. Including the exciting gifts they had lined up, the participants also left the stall with a wide smile.

Walking into the food festival for all the participants meant going through the Coca-Cola stall, that basically allowed everyone who visited the stall to leave a winner.

The Iconic Coke Digital Spin the Wheel made sure that every participant, young, and old had their hands filled with goodies from caps to t-shirts to a whole load of others. This certainly added a thrilling, carnival-ish component to the festival.

Do you see?

European food isn't necessarily the most accessible in Colombo. And usually, when we do end up finding some, they turn out to be ridiculously expensive. But through this festival, participants were given the opportunity to explore an arsenal of European food through the lines of stalls, all dedicated to serving up some stellar dishes without having to walk more than a couple of feet to either direction.

The fact that all of these were included, transformed the festival into a hub of happy foodi-ed souls all the way from 11 am to the tip of the clock at 11 pm. They certainly did taste the feeling and loved it.

Social Responsibility

Coca-Cola also ensured that all of the participants can dispose of their trash in a responsible and eco-friendly way. The improper disposal of plastic, in particular, has become a rising issue, and this initiative was taken in order to emphasise to the participants the importance of playing our role in saving the planet, however small it might be.