LESS than an hour after ticket sales were opened to the general public, Orange FOOD Week event Forage sold out.
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Forage has had a similar record in previous years and despite now catering for 1000 people, up from 300 in its first year, it sold out in 45 minutes.
FOOD Week president James Sweetapple was not surprised.
“It’s an immensely popular event. It’s like a football game, they sell out,” he said.
“We’re looking at building it up, but we are reliant on getting cooks and chefs to produce over 1000 portions reliably.”
Of the total tickets, 300 were available to the general public on Tuesday after 600 were pre-sold to Friends of FOOD Week members.
Another 100 will be distributed to VIPs, sponsors and people on the waiting list.
Friends of FOOD Week membership is $50 a year in exchange for early access to tickets and information about events and Mr Sweetapple said it was an advantage.
“It certainly helps, but it’s like a rock concert,” he said.
“When Katy Perry comes, some people miss out and they’re not members of her website.
“We may well get to the stage where we have that many Friends of FOOD that it becomes a Friends of FOOD-only event, but we want to have as many there as possible.”
He encouraged people to join the waiting list because out-of-area candidates might not be able to accept if accommodation booked out.
“It’s not like it’s futile,” he said.
“On the Orange FOOD Week website, there’s a button that you click on the front page, you can’t miss it.”
He also reminded FOOD Week visitors there were several other events still available, including the 100 Mile Dinner, winery-run events and the night markets.
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au