By Rachel Nurse
Disappointingly, the House of Caws cheese festival wasnÔÇÖt what I expected. I donÔÇÖt know what I expected, but it certainly wasnÔÇÖt that the food would be sold out early in the night and fort options to be limited. Unit Nineteen itself was a cool location. One youÔÇÖd go to get celebratory cocktails with your closest friends with at noon after an exam or somewhere to go to so you can revise and take edgy Snapchats and Instagram stories for all your friends to see that youÔÇÖve been ÔÇÿrevisingÔÇÖ. The Unit Nineteen staff on the door were friendly and told us to look forward to the event.
The actual cheese festival itself wasnÔÇÖt as big as I predicted. There were five stalls and a bar. However, I went in with an open mind and thought IÔÇÖd try everything from each store (if possible). Ironically, the most lactose intolerant person I know whoÔÇÖs also a vegan (me, myself and I) was thrilled of the thought of going to a cheese festival, as there would be vegan options able. My best friend who came with me adores dairy cheese and expected a great outcome from the event too. WeÔÇÖd spent the day sending cheese GIFs to each other in anticipation. We assumed there would be talks on, free samples and various different stalls to choose from alongside interactive elements for everyone to get involved with, rather than solely eating cheese products.
We arrived at the venue at 6:30pm at which I had a pint of cider to make up for the notorious rush hour traffic between Cardiff and Swansea.We started to wait in a queue for the busiest food stall and by 6:50pm, weÔÇÖd been informed that their food had sold out, despite the event starting at 5:00pm. The staff said that they didnÔÇÖt expect the event to be so busy and had been run completely dry. To my disapproval, that was the only vegan stall also the only store with gluten-free options available even though it was advertised that there would be plenty available. The other stalls were pizza, meat, toasties and cheesecake, so I couldnÔÇÖt really eat any of the products. Still, my friend who was hoping to try every product going wasnÔÇÖt jumping for joy with the selections on offer as they too were mostly sold out. The limitation of the food selection made us feel we couldnÔÇÖt judge the event to its fullest. We were looking forward to trying unusual food products that we canÔÇÖt try anywhere else rather than the typical pizza or a toastie option.
Unit Nineteen itself was a great place and I would recommended to go to if youÔÇÖre in the Swansea area. They do various events throughout the year and is definitely somewhere to check out. The House of Caws Cheese festival on the other hand was a miss, unless you were there as soon as the doors open to make sure you ate exactly what youÔÇÖre hoping for. With any luck, any future events will be better stocked to avoid dissatisfaction for anyone who doesnÔÇÖt arrive right as the doors open.