Ep #34: Lining Up the Best Festival Eats with Food Curator Tanya Kollar

ptotah
18 minutes ago
2 min read

Restaurant Deal Making EXPOSED! with Patrick Totah and Andy Mirabell | Lining Up the Best Festival Eats with Food Curator Tanya Kollar

How do festival food lineups come together, and what does it take to make them successful? In this episode, we’re talking with Food Curator Tanya Kollar, who manages food programs for major events such as Outside Lands and Lightning in a Bottle. Tanya shares how she works with chefs and restaurants to create menus that appeal to diverse audiences, balance operational realities, and meet the unique challenges of serving thousands of attendees in the middle of a festival. She explains how pop-up restaurants are changing the landscape of festival food and why thoughtful planning makes all the difference for both vendors and festival-goers.

We dive into the operational side of festival food, including menu planning, portion sizing, pricing strategy, and equipment needs. Tanya also covers permitting, power requirements, and logistical considerations that ensure smooth service. She highlights how translating complex dishes into approachable menu language and adopting cashless systems can impact sales, and how weather and technical issues are among the biggest risks for festival vendors.

Whether you’re a restaurant owner exploring festival opportunities or curious about the business behind large-scale events, Tanya provides actionable insights for creating successful culinary experiences in high-volume settings. From managing pop-ups to navigating operational hurdles, this episode offers strategies and lessons that can be applied to your own restaurant or event ventures.

If you enjoyed today’s show and don’t want to worry about missing an episode, be sure to follow the show wherever you listen to your podcasts. We would really appreciate it if you could share the podcast with others who you think would benefit, and leave a rating and review to let us know what you think!

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

Why pop-up restaurants represent exciting culinary innovation at festivals.
Operational differences between running a restaurant booth at a festival versus brick-and-mortar operations.
How to make menu items approachable to maximize sales at large-scale events.
Key equipment considerations, including hot holding and serving logistics.
Essential permits, power needs, and logistical requirements for festival food service.
How cashless payment systems improve efficiency and reduce risk.
The biggest risks to festival food operations.