Oktoberfest: The Mother of All Festivals

 
One of Germany’s most successful exports celebrates its 200th birthday this year. The first ‘Oktoberfest’ was held in Munich on 17 October 1810. Today, it takes place annually and is, with an average of 6 m visitors over 16 days, the world’s biggest event of its kind. However, beer festivals are held under this name not only in Munich but at around 3,000 venues in 100 countries around the globe. A success story made in Bavaria.
 
www.oktoberfest.de
 
 The last two weeks in September are sacred for most people in Munich. The Oktoberfest is one of the most important events in the calendar of Bavaria’s capital. The preparations begin months before the first barrel is officially tapped by the Mayor of Munich. For example, the 14 huge marquees, which can simultaneously accommodate over 100,000 guests enjoying the local beer, pretzels, grilled chicken and brass-band music, cost up to c1 m each to erect and involve several weeks' work.
 
From a foodservice point of view, the ‘Oktoberfest' stands primarily for the eating and drinking that goes on in the 14 marquees - in particular, the specially brewed festival beer, which is served in 1-l ‘Mass' jugs (supplied exclusively by Munich breweries, by the way) and Bavarian specialities that have become increasingly upmarket over recent years. Both - the beer and the food - are the basic ingredients of the down to-earth sociability typical of Bavaria, something that certainly does not exclude raucous celebrations. On the contrary, the visual evidence is that exuberance is all the more likely.
 

 
| 18 August 2010 | Barbara Mecke |