April 28, 2017
@trev4president/Twitter
Despite posts to social media, the STARR Catering Group from Philadelphia was not responsible for the food provided at the Fyre Festival in the Bahamas. The caterer and the festival's organizers cut ties in early April.
It was promoted as the next Coachella for those rich enough to afford, received star treatment from supermodels and celebrities like Kendall Jenner and was promised to be a "once-in-a-lifetime" concert set in the Bahamas.
Instead, the Fyre Festival was a total flop.
The festival, organized by singer Ja Rule and entrepreneur Billy McFarland, that was supposed to span two weekends was fully postponed after attendees found a scene that looked weeks away from being ready to host anyone at all.
This is after festival-goers and groups paid anywhere from $450 to $250,000 to attend, with one package costing a whopping $12,000, according to the Washington Post.
Ja Rule said on Twitter that he was "heartbroken" and that the event was "NOT A SCAM." He then went on to apologize but noted that the flop was "NOT [HIS] FAULT."
While there are photos floating around of tents meant for guests to sleep in that are being compared to "FEMA" tents, there's a particularly off-putting photo of the food served to those at the "once-in-a-lifetime" experience.
Local seafood, sushi and a pig roast were rumored to have been served during the festival by the STARR Catering Group of Philadelphia, which has catered many large, high-end events in places like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and New York Botanical Garden to Carnegie Hall and Clark Art Institute.
The famed Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr, who's behind restaurants like Barclay Prime and Parc, sold the catering portion of Starr Restaurants in 2015.
Photos of what was actually served at the Fyre Festival, bread with Kraft cheese slices and salad dished out in styrofoam boxes, quickly circulated around social media Thursday and Friday.
The dinner that @fyrefestival promised us was catered by Steven Starr is literally bread, cheese, and salad with dressing. #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/I8d0UlSNbd
— Tr3vor (@trev4president) April 28, 2017
Look at the food they are feeding to my team at @#fyrefestival. Literally no words for how disgraceful they are treating their partners. pic.twitter.com/CO7dOAJica
— Jeff (@OhHelloItsJeff) April 28, 2017
One of the kitchens at Fyre Festival. #fyre #fyrefest #fyrefestival pic.twitter.com/gQIpwxrw6S
— William N. Finley IV (@WNFIV) April 28, 2017
Turns out, STARR had nothing to do with the festival's food. The catering group cut ties with Fyre at the beginning of the month, per a statement released on its Twitter account.
"The food services agreement STARR Catering Group entered for the Fyre Festival was terminated on April 2nd, 2017 and since that date STARR Catering Group/STARR Events has not been involved with or provided any services in connection with this event."
A spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg that the catering group "realized that there were significant business issues that could not be resolved and would not allow them to deliver a premium food and beverage experience that met Starr’s exceedingly high demands."
Fyre Festival said that it was "working tirelessly to get flights scheduled and get all travelers home safely" on Friday.
