Last night a "giant cheeseboard" event promising unlimited cheese took place in east London, but people were left very disappointed.
So #giantcheeseboard was a SHIT show. Lied to us. False advertising. @MailOnline @TimeOutLondon this is an event wh… https://t.co/emwrm8czTS
According to the Facebook event page created by the organisers, people who shelled out more than £30 on tickets were also promised free drinks and more.
But Twitter was flooded by complaints from pissed off customers.
@TimeOutLondon how can you endorse #giantcheeseboard , overpriced and disappointing doesn’t cover it 😔 https://t.co/FSUFdskalE
Someone even said a Sainsbury's van turned up with cheese during the event.
£37 and didn't even get any cheese! Disgusting. The Sainsbury's delivery even arrived after the event started! They… https://t.co/X7HCXfGMOu
Tom Capon, a 24-year-old nightlife journalist from Essex, told BuzzFeed News the first thing he saw when he arrived was the delivery showing up along with the event's security, 30 minutes late.
The people struggle for the last scraps of Camembert. The suffering has gone on too long.
"It was stunning that they'd managed to fuck up the simplest of all concepts: unlimited wine and cheese," Capon said.
There are lots of bleak photos from the event.
A lone cheese plate on a bus stop #giantcheeseboard
Peter Phillips, a 33-year-old marketing account director from east London, told BuzzFeed News he had expected an event for foodies.
Before the event took place it was covered in Metro and Time Out, which Phillips said gave it more credibility.
He said what he actually saw were "five school-style tables of non-description cheese being served by people in mouse ear head bands, and a scattering of dry crackers and bowls of peanuts."
He said he tried to get a refund but that the organiser was "extremely rude, condescending, and abrupt".
Catherine, 35, from Cambridgeshire, said her group had travelled down to North Greenwich for the event specially, as a treat for her sister.
@studio338 Just got inside and it’s gone from bad to worse - no cheese, the staff aren’t allowed to cut it, no crac… https://t.co/8x9cfvuRmb
"My sister loves cheese and my husband and I wanted to take her to something special to thank her for everything that she’s done for us this year," she told BuzzFeed News.
She said that after an hour of queuing they got let into the venue, which she described as "disorganised chaos".
An hour after it opens and still not in #giantcheeseboard @studio338, what awful organisation. Assuming you’ll be e… https://t.co/j44kyyZW7Q
Catherine, who asked her surname not be used, said: "The venue was very overpacked, queues for everything, only five types of cheese despite their promises/marketing, the cheese kept running out as did crackers."
"No utensils to serve yourself with, people just sticking their hands in which was frankly disgusting," she continued.
Catherine said she asked to speak to the organiser multiple times but was told that he had left the premises.
Needless to say, people felt scammed.
So #giantcheeseboard was a SHIT show. Lied to us. False advertising. @MailOnline @TimeOutLondon this is an event wh… https://t.co/emwrm8czTS
And lots described it as the UK's version of the Fyre Festival.
#GiantCheeseboard looks like the British equivalent of Fyre Festival.
If you want cheering up today, I heartily recommend looking at #giantcheeseboard hashtag, for a very British Fyre F… https://t.co/oWgAfxaq5h
How extremely British that our version of the #fyrefestival fiasco is the #GiantCheeseboard cockup
@hannahjdavies Cannot overstate how bleak this is
Others questioned why people dressed as a cartoon cat were handing out cheese.
Why is there people dressed as Tom the Cat at #giantcheeseboard, surely it should be Jerry? Even the character organisation is shocking!!
Update: In a lengthy statement, the organisers answered every issue that people had raised. They said the allegations that they had run out of cheese were completely untrue.
Guys,
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!
To broach the comments/complaints being aimed at us:
"The cheese was 'store bought' (co-op/Sainsbury's etc)/not of a high quality"
This is absolutely untrue. The cheeses were sourced from some of the UK and Europe's best specialty cheese makers, dairies and farms, such as Montgomery's Cheddar and Ogleshield (producer Jamie Montgomery), Stilton (producer Tuxford and Tebbutt), Cornish Brie (Producer Cornish Country Larder) and Buche De Chevre from France, as well as Nutkin Artisan Vegan Cheese. This is completely documented with the suppliers/invoices/boxes etc. The Sainsbury's truck some people saw arriving at the start of the first session was delivering extra Jacobs crackers (Jacobs were always the cracker supplier and this was made completely clear!)
"There was not unlimited cheese"
Again completely untrue! There are 11 different cheese stations serving all day and night with totally unlimited amounts of cheese throughout. Again, this is documented in photos and videos across the whole weekend. If you decided to leave after 30 minutes then of course, we couldn't give you unlimited cheese! You'd bought a ticket for a 6 hour event!!!!
"The music was rubbish"
We very clearly advertised 'cheesy music' this was a mix of pop, Christmas songs and old hits. Exactly the definition of cheesy music at this time of year!
"There was no comedy or karaoke"
Again totally untrue and again documented with videos and photos. This is upstairs in the loft (Speakcheesy room). If some of you didn't find that then we're sorry, but we did supply a map right at the entrance and a program to all of you - these things were happening all day and were amazing!
"You ran out of cheese"
Untrue and once more documented in hundreds of photos. None of the cheeses ran out, and there were mountains of cheese all throughout the event and right up until the end. Just as promised...totally unlimited. Again, if you only stayed for a very short period of time, how can we ensure you have the unlimited cheese we had provided for everyone over the 6 hour sessions?
"The mulled wine was cold"
Again this just isn't true! We serve from heated dispensers (which once again is a provable fact!) it was a cold day in December so of course, the drinks are going to cool down fairly quickly but they were absolutely not cold when served.There were occasions when the dispensers had to be changed over and the temp might not have been piping hot...but they were at no point 'cold' and were mostly hot
"There wasn't a halloumi or cheesecake stall"
There was a cheesecake stall and there are photos to prove this
The halloumi burger and camembert chef sadly fell ill the night before - so this was one thing missing from our program but this (as was made very clear) was an additional option to purchase and was not included in your ticket price
"The production set was not as expected/there was none of the production promised"
We spent (again completely documented and provable) thousands and thousands of pounds on giant cheese sets, giant wine bottles, giant grapes, draping, screens, comedy signs, props and photo opportunities, actors and loads more fun stuff. Again completely provable with photos and videos!
Here is a list of some of the additional attractions and production pieces - all of these are documented in photos and videos at every session
A total of 6 comedians on rotation across the sessions. Some of which have even won best newcomer at the Edinburgh festival etc
Cheesy Karaoke
Comedy quizzes
Cheese dreams disco with the amazing club de fromage DJ's
VICheeseTable with our celebrity mice actors
Photospots with large celebrity mice cutouts and 'face in a hole' set ups
Giant Chess set
Giant cheese moon
Giant wine bottles, grapes, cheeses, circus draping, oversized Christmas candy canes, Christmas trees with presents and a large fire plus loads more decorative touches
Buskers and street performers
Lots of seating and a heated marquee
The cheese street market
Cat and Mouse actors
On the food front, along with tonnes and tonnes of cheese (again completely documented!) we also supplied free chorizo, grapes, relishes and garnishes, baguettes, jams, pineapples, canapes and loads more - none of which were even advertised in advance.....we supplied those for free, in addition, to make sure you guys had all you could eat and experience the cheese in the best way! We have not cut any corners and actually went over and above what was stated on the tickets and events
The fact is that a LOT of people had a great time ....we have so many videos and photos of all the fun that was happening around the venue - but a small proportion of people had expected something else (we are really not sure what as we made very clear what content would be in place - and even went beyond that to add more in the last few days!) and were not prepared to give the event a chance and spend the full or even half the duration of the session before making accusations which are completely incorrect.
For ticket holders to the final session on Dec 23rd we would encourage you to come along and take your time to explore the venue and experience a) the fact that there categorically is unlimited cheese and b) there are loads of fun things to do whilst you are eating (check out the comedy, compete in the quiz, interact with our mice, dance in the disco room, sing in the karaoke, take snaps at our photo spots or just chill out and chat in our giant cheese board terrace).
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.
At the time of writing there are lots of happy cheese fans here, many of them having just watched 4 great comedians and are about to begin the pub quizz...everyone has had as much cheese as they want (and of course can get as much as they want for the next couple of hours too) most people have a cup of hot mulled wine in front of them and the wine is of course still readily available to all, just as it has been throughout.
We are truely 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! If we had run out of cheese, or limited anything or just stuck some tables in a room then fair enough...but that is absolutely not the case and there are loads and loads of ways we can prove this to anyone who's interested to know more!