Kanye West did a good deed raising money for charity with a breakfast buffet for concertgoers, but the underwhelming spread earned itself Fyre Festival comparisons.
If someone as rich as Kanye (net worth of $240 million) is offering up a buffet, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine it would be quite a decadent affair.
Personally, I’d expect there to be trays of freshly cooked bacon and eggs, pancakes, waffles and syrup, fresh fruit and maybe even a croissant or two with a choice of spreads.
So, it’s understandable fans were disappointed with the food they actually received, consisting of a couple of strips of bacon, a sausage patty, dry pancakes and grits – all, apparently, served cold.
Don’t get me wrong; anyone who has the opportunity to have food served to them is lucky, but with a $55 (£42.50) price tag attached, the measly, beige offering was a bit ridiculous.
The buffet was served at one of Kanye’s Sunday Service concerts, at Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on November 1. While the gig itself was free, guests were given the opportunity to add the ‘Brunchella’ breakfast buffet to their ticket order to raise money for the church.
One disappointed attendee took to Facebook to share pictures of their plate and express their anger at the meal, writing:
This is the wonderful & COLD brunch BUFFET we are being served by Boil & Roux BR. & the server looked at me crazy when I asked for another pancake… I want my coins back for a general admission ticket (FREE TICKET).
Edit: I opted out of a small scoop of cold grits.
Images of the food were shared across social media, with some users comparing it to the meals served at the Fyre Festival, where festivalgoers paid thousands of dollars for tickets while under the impression they would treated to gourmet food and luxurious accommodations.
Instead, they received a cheese sandwich.
One person compared the two meals, writing:
The food from Fyre Festival and Kanye’s Brunchella is like Jesus feeding the multitude loaves and fish but if you’re a con man and not Jesus
Take a look at some of the other comparisons below:
Though much of the blame has been placed on Kanye, TMZ reports the rapper didn’t actually receive any money for his performance and he covered all travel costs for his choir, suggesting he was simply focused on raising money for the church.
Following the event, the catering company behind the meal, Lauryn’s Fine Catering, released a statement taking full responsibility for the food served.
They acknowledged the food was inadequate but implied this was only the case for one attendee – specifically the one who shared photos on social media.
The statement read:
The catering company acknowledges it did not provide adequate food for ONE attendee and a social media post went viral.
Kanye West and the Sunday Service collective should be disassociated with such claims surrounding the food at the event.
A social media search hasn’t resulted in anyone sticking up for the brunch, though some other photos of the food show eggs and pancake syrup were also on the menu.
Still, $55 is a high price to pay for disappointment and the singer didn’t do much in the way of redeeming the situation reportedly showing up to the concert two hours late.
While the fans obviously weren’t happy with the food, at least they all raised some money for the church. Every cloud.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.