Picture this: You’ve just started working as a social media intern for The Meatmen Channel with GastroBeats around the corner. For most foodies like me, it’s a dream come true! What I didn’t expect was how intense working during the festival would be – it took up my whole month and more!
As someone who loves eating and enjoying food, I wasn’t a stranger to GastroBeats. I’d often hear my friends or other peers visiting the food and music festival to soak in the fun vibes. So, going in, I already had pictured GastroBeats as some kind of extravaganza of partying and eating. Of course, working at a festival would be different than participating in one as a visitor, so I levelled my expectations and went in with an open mindset. I was ready to learn!
First Impressions
The night view of GastroBeats from above. So many lights and vibes!
From its first beginnings in 2022 as a festival launched in Bayfront Events Space post-COVID, GastroBeats has cemented itself as a vibrant celebration of local food personalities and homegrown music acts. This year marks its fifth anniversary, so the festivities were planned to be bigger and better! I sat in at briefings by our experiential team and got so excited for this year’s activities, even simply hearing about them in our meeting room.
The Meatmen Channel, just like last year, would be having a booth among the other food vendors! Here’s a little recap of our menu:
Our delicious menu items: Laksa Mac & Cheese, Chilli Crab Kueh Pie Tee, Lotus Leaf Rice, and
We also released a surprise secret menu in the form of a Chilli Crab Mac to spice things up halfway through the festival! With these dishes in the lineup, we set out to feed each and every one of our customers at GastroBeats.
Let ‘Em Cook
Some Instagram stories and TikToks I helped make throughout the festival.
My duties throughout the month mostly consisted of taking social media stories and videos to keep our audience updated with festival-related happenings. I replied to any questions in our DMs, and reposted stories of those who tagged us on Instagram. I was particularly heartened to see both first-time customers and long-time supporters visit the booth to try our food.
From there, I got to shadow my coworkers in various areas and assisted where I could. Despite long hours in the heat, I watched as my coworkers all played their part in creating an experience for our customers and audience online!
I also helped with some shoots with other vendors and our GastroBuds, which was a little harder. This goes without saying, but afternoons at the festival were HOT. My coworkers and I were always in shorts and sunglasses, holding umbrellas to get shoots done in the sweltering sun. Despite all the sweating and complaints about the heat, we had to endure it in order to get our work done. We didn’t have the luxury of time to sit and wait for the weather to be better another day, especially because those days would mostly end up being rainy…I have so much respect for my coworkers, who kept working hard in spite of the weather conditions so they could film and produce the content they needed to deliver to clients and for the booth. In the end, we managed to put out some pretty neat videos, like our TikToks! Some of what we were filming has yet to be posted, so keep your eyes peeled…
Meet The Crew
My coworkers manoeuvred through many things, from booth management to filming with our GastroBuds vendor friends!
In order to pull off boothing and managing work at a food festival, you’d need the hands of many different people! For us, that included individuals like our chefs, content team, and our Malaysian team, who flew over from Kuala Lumpur to visit us!
Our Malaysian team worked especially hard in content production, from filming to hosting videos as talents. I was in awe of how adaptable they were in order to complete our scheduled filming each day. I even got to work the camera for some shoots, and absorb the knowledge of my more experienced coworkers!
While taking footage for videos and Instagram stories, I watched as our chefs carefully worked the kitchen, especially during peak hours. That massive cleaver people took videos of, while our chefs chopped up slabs of sio bak? It takes major skills and dedication! As a foodie who doesn’t cook that much, it definitely puts into perspective what goes on behind the scenes to cook up and serve the dishes we love.
Tricks of the Trade
Our Laksa Mac & Cheese being prepared by the chefs at our booth.
Through all the glitz and vibes of the festival you might have seen online, me and my coworkers faced our own share of obstacles. This June was particularly more rainy than the last one, and even a small shower could stunt our footfall. While more determined festival-goers brought umbrellas and braved the rain, others left hoping their next visit would be sunnier. At times, coming over to the festival to see it less crowded and full of puddles was often discouraging, but we hardly let it dampen our spirit. Our fellow vendors and GastroBuds Tonda Pizza and GIRTHY Corndogs, kept working hard even in harsh weather conditions.
The staff at the booth put their utmost to drive whatever customers there were to try our food. I was beyond amazed at the diligence of the people working at the festival! It takes a lot of work to push forward despite unforeseen circumstances. Watching this taught me that I should never stop putting my utmost even if I encounter obstacles.
The next time I visit an event like GastroBeats, I’d take the time to appreciate the effort put behind the scenes by the vendors and other staff!
An Unforgettable Month
The TMC team all together~ I’m so glad for the opportunity to have worked alongside them!
It’s been a long and fulfilling month at GastroBeats, and it’s been incredible to support The Meatmen Channel in my own way! The community spirit was amazing to witness, especially in the customers that came to support the booth, rain or shine. Getting to watch people try the food at our booth was a one-of-a-kind experience I wouldn’t have gotten as a regular festival goer. I’m super grateful to the team for this experience and the opportunities to contribute to the festival!
So…same time next year?
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More of what you might like:
- In the land of pasta and pizza, all I craved was tofu
- Singaporean Dishes We Miss Most Living Abroad
- Two Pizzas, and Then Some.
P.S. We’ve got recipes for all your Singaporean and Asian favourites on our Youtube channel. Subscribe and share with your friends!
P.P.S. Can’t find a recipe you like? Drop us a comment or ping us on our socials.