Shame on the State Governments of the past 20 years …

*Pic: John Caire … today, taking coffee …

A response to: Taste the Mojo lost …

This is a rebuttal of the recent mischievous negative articles about the Taste of Tasmania.

I have been a stallholder at the Taste since it started 27 years ago, with just a handful of stalls rattling around the Princess Wharf Shed, with our Tempura Mushrooms which have been described as a Taste Icon.

The change to cashless has been endorsed by most stallholders. We were presented with a choice of a ticketed event with an admission fee of $10.00 for lunch and $15.00 for dinner or a cashless card system. We all agreed that a unique feature of the Taste is the free entry, probably the only event of this type in Australia to have no entry fee.

The cost of mounting the Taste has increased by over 300% in the past years, owing to the advent of the Nanny State. The council has to comply with a mired of Federal Watchdogs, OH&S Workplace Standards, a product of our litigious society and greedy insurers.

The stall fees, although appearing high, are reasonable when you compare them with other food festivals in Tasmania and on the mainland. With the same stall costs per day as other festivals, the one, two or three day events have substantial entry fees.

The Taste is 7 days with no entry cost.

But the council has had to subsidise the event by over $600,000 per year. Remember it is on the Hobart City Council and the ratepayers of Hobart, a small number in our population who just cannot continue to foot the bill.

Shame on the State Governments of the past 20 years, throwing a measly amount into the pot. Last time I enquired, $50,000 and yet a reputed amount of over $500,000 to the Elitist Dark MoFo who charge stall fees and substantial admissions.

I say well done Hobart City Council and to the critics and naysayers, in the words of a recent Melbourne Cup jockey “They can all get stuffed”.

The card system is the same one we use daily for our purchases. The stalls will have EFTPOS terminals that are able to take paywave and normal credit and debit cards, just not Amex or Diner. They are a new ipad style of terminal and very simple to use. The Bank have called it an ALBERT just to confuse anyone over thirty.

In the payment transaction which is paid into the stallholders’ bank accounts daily, the council GET goods festival tax of 10%. As a stallholder I have raised my prices to pay for it, just like GST. Statistics tell us that the average spend at the Taste is $35.00 per person, creating a painless admission price of $3.50, you can’t even buy a coffee in Hobart for that.
To answer the charge of expensive food and wine, this year over the period of the Taste we have 1 Saturday, 1 Sunday and 2 public holidays.

These are penalty rate days for staff, from Saturday rate to double time Sunday and double time and a half for Public Holidays.

Doing your own arithmetic, at a rate of about $53.00 per hour for adults, and with 14 staff on deck over a 12-hour period, the daily wage bill is astronomical for me.

Do you hear us complain …?

With Fair Work hanging over our shoulders, everyone pays award wages. Then out of the rest of the money left over, Malcolm gets 10% GST which will probably be 15% next year. High insurance, for some, payroll tax , gas, electricity, rent and a mired of costs.

But do you hear us complain … ?

No!

Then you have mother nature, that fickle woman, who provided us last year with excessive wind, torrential rain and searingly hot temperatures. Yes, we made a quid, not excessive but when you see the gauntlet we have to run, can you begrudge us making a quid?

As for Damon Thomas accepting the role of spokesperson for the Taste, as an ex-Lord Mayor and University Professor, he is a very articulate speaker and presenter. A great choice and a terrific advocate of the Taste.

As for Nick Haddow, he did not apply for a stall because his family and business are too busy over that time period. How dare he use the Taste for his formative years and discard and trash its image now.

Wagi is a loss to the Taste but that is his decision, citing costs (I don’t think he thought of putting his prices up 10%) and a change of position.

The Tempura Mushroom Stall at the Taste has been everywhere in the Shed, the Paddock and on Salamanca Lawns. With a good product and his followers, Wagi would have had no problem in his new location in the Shed.

*John Caire is one of Tasmania’s most recognisable restaurateurs, having established many fine dining establishments in the state, including the Astor Grill as well as the Ball & Chain, both John and the restaurants are recognised as icons of the industry. His Tempura Mushroom stall at the Taste of Tasmania has been there since the beginning and is now in its 27th year.