Organisers of ‘disaster’ cheese and wine event hit out at complaints it ran out of cheese

The organisers of a “diabolical” foodie festival promising unlimited cheese and wine have hit back at customers who called it a “disaster” for running out of both.

The cheese and wine event has been likened to the Bahamas’ Fyre Festival, which ended in disaster and thousands demanding refunds.

The Giant Cheeseboard, hosted in a nightclub venue in Greenwich, London, charged foodies and oenophiles £30 each for entry to an event promising six hours of “cheesy heaven”, karaoke and mulled wine on-tap.

The festival was widely publicised in UK media ahead of the event’s launch on Saturday 16 December, receiving coverage in the Metro, Evening Standard and Design My Night.

But ticket-holders called the event “diabolical” after they claimed they were only allowed two glasses of “cold, non-alcoholic” wine, and the “unlimited” supply of cheese ran out.

Foodies took to social media to air their outrage at the event, claiming that neither the quality nor quantity of food and drink came as promised.

I can confirm #giantcheeseboard at @studio338 was a really poor event, but the angry reviews left by everyone have made my morning. UnBRIElievable

— Louisa Brown (@LouisaBrown_) December 18, 2017

Revellers complained that the artisanal cheese turned out to be “cheap” while attendees were limited to just “two glasses” of “low alcohol wine.”

There were also complaints that a series of attractions, including karaoke, a giant cheese board and stand-up comedy never materialised.

And there was me thinking my love life was going to be my biggest dissapointment of 2017. Just in at the last minute, we have a new winner …#giantcheeseboard on Saturday, what a farce and don’t even start me on the low alcohol mulled wine being offered!

— Emma Hays (@emsjlh) December 18, 2017

One attendee described the event as “a nightmare toddler’s birthday party in a dodgy village hall. Certainly unforfetable. Basically a brie-ch of human rights.”

Naturally, puns became the order of the weekend.

I knew it was too Gouda to be true…… #GiantCheeseboard

— On the feast of Steve the Cat Nut….. (@stevethecatnut) December 18, 2017

Watch what you say. You could be done for libel. Tread Caerphilly #GiantCheeseBoard https://t.co/16KWsXBjrp

— Goldilocks Zone (@1GoldilocksZone) December 17, 2017

After some 48 hours of complaints, refund requests and cheese puns from festival attendees and spectators on social media, the events company issued a statement.

The Giant Cheese Board organisers denied any wrongdoing in a statement on Sunday evening, refusing to apologise for the outcome of the night.

“If we felt that we had not provided any of the things included in your entry price then we’d be the first to hold our hands up and apologise but this is simply NOT the case,” it said, before slamming customers complaints of a lack of and poor quality cheese, cold mulled wine, and no entertainment as “completely untrue.”

“As with any event, there were, of course, some queues in the first hour or so for certain things.”

“However, there was loads of stuff happening all over the venue and 2 large areas where you could get access to cheese almost immediately, plus servers walking around the queues handing out cheese and greeters at the doors with cups of mulled wine.”

“We are truely (sic) passionate about cheese and have put months of planning and huge investment into this project – we are obviously very upset seeing any negative reactions at all…but to make the statement some of you are in messages and social media is just totally unfair and false!”

But revellers have now hit back again, claiming that the festival’s organisers have been systematically deleting negative comments and demands for refunds from The Giant Cheese Board’s Facebook page.

Screenshots seen by the drinks business show a number of negative reviews about the event, including bare plates of brie and camembert which were not replenished, were posted to the events page over the weekend.

It would appear that these comments have been removed by the page admins.

Customers complained that many negative comments and photos from the event had been deleted.

The comments stated that customers were only allowed into the event an hour after it was due to start, while there was a “battle” to find any cheese or wine at all.

“I ended up with a soggy plate of damp crackers and minimal cheese and no mulled wine,” said one.

“By the time we left there was a riot building in the entrance with many frustrated customers.”

Karen, who had paid more than £115 for tickets to attend the event on Saturday with her friends, told db that the event was “just ridiculous”, and left after 40 minutes of attempting to get into the venue.

“I gave up after 40 minutes in the queue,” she said. “I saw how upset people were.”

Karen said she was hoping for an extravagant evening reminiscent of Borough Market’s cheese stalls, but instead left empty-handed.

“When I saw the event online I bought the tickets imagining I was going to walk around a giant cheese board.. Piles of perfect cheese and professional staff offering the different types of cheese like when you go to let’s say Borough Market in London.”

“Instead as you can see from the screen shots it was not the case.”

She said that instead of limitless cheese plates, all there was to show for the day were”tables around the whole venue with barely any cheese.”

“Just ridiculous!”

The reaction to the foodie festival strikes a chord with another festive event which left thousands out of pocket after a series of mysterious cancellations.

Prosecco & Balls — a series of club nights involving an adult ball pit and unlimited Prosecco — were axed last-minute and without notifying customers, leaving hundreds of people turning up to empty venues and demanding refunds.

db has contacted the organisers for comment.