Furious traders at food festival expected 5,000 visitors only to be greeted by empty fields - as families compare 'shambles' event to notorious Fyre Fest

By MATT STRUDWICK, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:08, 12 June 2026 | Updated: 01:28, 12 June 2026 MUST SET VID 3661343 LIVE AND HERO   Families and traders have been left furious after they turned up to a local food festival that ended up 'being like Fyre Fest'.  Irate business owners said they were told more than 5,000 people would be attending Kent Food Fest across the two-day event in May, but instead were greeted by empty fields.  Furious traders compared it to being like the notorious Fyre Fest 'if no one had come to Fyre Fest' and labelled it 'a badly organised shambles'.  The families that did attend had to pay nearly £100 in total to gain entry, only to find there was 'sweet fa for them to do'. A dog fest advertised to 'keep the furry friend entertained' with 'agility zones' was 'some hoops and poles on the ground and a ten-minute show'.  The festival's website is littered with stock photos. An image promoting the dog fest shows a leaping Border Collie with the words 'best trick' written on a blue neckerchief. It appears to be AI-generated.  Traders said they were quoted different amounts for a pitch - ranging from £200 to £1,000 - with others being told by the organiser they had to attend both days.  But some were so desperate to leave, they packed up early with one 'passing stock over the fence' to load into their car.   The event, which has been held in the county for 11 years, is run by Jay Scott, whose band performed alongside an Elton John tribute act.  Mr Scott, whose real name is Jason Springham, had promoted himself on his social media pages as the 'events manager' for the Katie Piper Foundation. This has since been removed. A video posted on her Instagram shows it being anything but, with stalls lined up in an empty field in Sevenoaks. Irate business owners said they were promised more than 5,000 people would be attending Kent Food Fest across the two-day event, but instead were greeted by empty fields The families that did attend had to pay £20 each for a ticket to gain entry, only to find there was 'sweet fa for them to do' The event, which has been held in the county for 11 years, is run by Jay Scott, whose band performed alongside an Elton John tribute act (not pictured) Jay Scott (pictured), whose real name is Jason Springham, is the organiser of Kent Food Fest  had promoted himself on his social media pages as the 'events manager' for the Katie Piper Foundation His name had appeared on the burns rehabilitation charity's website as being part of the events committee as recently as this month.   A picture posted on Instagram from a fellow committee member in 2024 shows him standing with a group of people and acid attack survivor Ms Piper.  But the charity told the Daily Mail that Mr Scott has never been employed by the foundation or was ever its events manager, and that his position was a volunteer role.  His sole involvement amounted to volunteering for one Christmas fundraiser in 2024.  It is understood he did not have any involvement with organising the event. Companies House records show Jason Springham has been listed as a director at six different firms. Three of those have been dissolved, and he resigned from two. One he quit in 2024, named The Kent FoodFest Limited, has accounts overdue with an active proposal for it to be struck off. Its most recent accounts filed in 2020 show debts of more than £30,000.  The Food Fest Kent Ltd, set up in 2022 with Mr Springham as the sole director, has debts of £4,794, according to its accounts filed in November 2024.  Traders have told the Daily Mail that Mr Scott has failed to respond to any of their emails in which they have demanded a refund, while others say they have now been blocked by him on social media.  The Daily Mail has left voicemails on Mr Scott's mobile number and has sent emails requesting comment. He is yet to respond to any of our questions, and he has since started screening calls on his phone.   Claire Chatfield, 31, was one of trader who attended after Mr Scott told her it was 'the largest food festival in Kent'. But a video posted on her Instagram shows it being anything but, with stalls lined up in an empty field in Sevenoaks.  She was charged £200 for a pitch in the 'main arena' on one day for her Woof and Whisk Doggy Desserts business and described the event as a 'shambles'.  Miss Chatfield said she had been promised a 'premium spot'. But when she arrived at 9am, she had to scurry around to find a burger-eating Mr Scott to ask where to set up her stall, only to be told to go to the same place as another trader. She had spent a week baking dog biscuits in anticipation of thousands of people attending. In five hours, she made about 40 sales.  'I was quite annoyed, upset, and disappointed, because he promised something that didn't happen,' she said.  'I understand that weather and stuff are a thing that comes into it, but it was pretty obvious he didn't give a sh*t.  'If I had put on a festival and it was really bad and not many people turned up, I would literally be walking around to the traders and saying "I'm so sorry, is there anything I can do? Maybe we can refund you some of your money". I would be trying to make it right, whereas he was just on stage singing with his band, and disappearing.  'Apparently, he was in the fields trying to get people to dance, and it was just very weird, weird behaviour for an organiser, like a professional organiser.'  An email, seen by this publication, sent to Miss Chatfield in April, mistakenly called the event 'The Lent Food Fest 2026' and gave the wrong days for the dates.  An image promoting the dog fest shows a leaping Border Collie with the words 'best trick' written on a blue. It appears to be AI-generated A security team member in a yellow vest stands in the field with a person at a table with their head in their hands  The event has been running for 11 years, but traders said it was 'badly organised' and was 'not at all what was advertised' In it, traders are told vehicle movement is not allowed until 10pm on the Saturday and 7pm on Sunday.  Another trader, who did not wish to be named, had spent her birthday money and savings on a holiday to Italy to attend.  The single mother said Mr Scott told her she would have to be there on both days and pay £400 up front, or the pitch would go to somebody else. The most she had ever paid at other food festivals was £90.  With her firm financially 'on its arse', she thought it was an opportunity too good to miss and, despite agonising over the decision, she decided to pay the £400 to secure the slot.    But when she arrived, she found out from others that they had been quoted different prices and they were allowed to attend for one day.  She said: 'Looking back now, I feel like a fool, because I should have seen that as a red flag, really, [him] saying "it's all or nothing, we've got other people waiting". 'I'm really financially struggling. I emailed them and just said, "Look, can I pay you on the day, because financially I don't have it, and they said no.  'So I have used all my own savings, which I'm so cross about, but basically I had saved some money to go solo travelling, just for a weekend. I've never done it before, and I've used all that money for this event. 'I had to buy a lot of stock because he said 5,000 people are going to be there, so I'm thinking, "oh my god, I'm going to sell out". I bought all new stock, paid £400 for the pitch for the whole weekend, and it was just an absolute sham. It was a sham.'  A friend's husband, who had travelled from Dorset to help her, was so incensed that he spoke to other vendors, where he found out they were being charged different amounts. Fed up and with it beginning to rain, the 46-year-old decided to pack up early and started to pass stock over the fence to load into her car after being told vehicles would not be allowed on the field until 10pm.   She said: 'That's a long day, and you're not allowed to bring your cars onto the field to pack up. It started spitting and raining and stuff, and my friend's husband was like, "Do you want to go?" And I said, "Yeah, I'm done".  'Even the security... we were passing my stuff over the fence. The security guard said, "Do you want to bring the car?" And I said, "I've been told I'm not allowed". But he said, "I literally don't care what he says, I'm opening the gate", so even the security knew that it was a sham.' The businesswoman decided not to go back for the second day as she was 'so upset and angry'.  She said: 'It's so much effort to put this massive gazebo up that I have. It's two hours work to make not even the money to cover your fee, and then come home again, and so I didn't go.  'Other people might think that's wrong, but I stand by what I did, and he [Mr Scott] didn't even contact me. I've never heard from him since. He didn't ring me to say, "is everything okay? Where are you? You're not at your pitch".  'Nothing, absolutely nothing, which to me says he knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew that people would potentially pay for two days and wouldn't come back.' Other reviews posted by angry food firms on Kent Food Fest's Facebook page say 'traders were sold a lie'.  Christy's Kitchen wrote: 'Hardly any tickets sold. Overpriced pitch fees for food and drink traders, and way too many. Poor organisation and poor show. The dog show on the Sunday was a joke.  'Not sure what they think they are doing here. Will not attend again and advise against it to all traders. Every trader there was there [sic] first time attending which says it all. None of us will be going back next year.' One trader said 'everyone made a loss' when they attended last year, and said 'it's a giant party for him [Mr Scott] and his friends'.  She wrote about 2025's event: '[The] pitch fee was £350 for the day and we did maybe 40 portions.  'When I arrived and spoke with the other traders and realised everyone was there for the first time, I knew this wouldn't be a good day.' A mother paid £96 for her family to attend on the Saturday and said 'I can’t even describe how awful it was'. She compared it to the notorious Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow.  Another parent's blunt review said 'the whole thing was a load of sh*t!' She said: 'Not what he advertised at all! We got a refund on the way out! The guy had pure attitude saying everyone else is happy.' Meanwhile, a Reddit thread has been published titled 'event organisers ripped off vendors for "county's largest festival" which was more like a village fete'.  It calls it 'a badly organised shambles in a small field' and that 'it was like Fyre Fest if no one had gone to Fyre Fest'.  'On day one, maybe 100 people turned up throughout the entire day. It was supposed to go on until 10pm but by 6pm most vendors up and left as the only attendees were other vendors and their families,' it reads.  'Most food vendors only sold two or three meals in the whole day. Day two, maybe 200 to 300 attendees, still very poor sales. Attendees were charged £20/adult and £10/child so when they walked in and saw what they'd paid for, they weren't interested in spending any more money.'   Kent Food Fest's website lists The Great Ormond Street charity as one of its 'partners' with the event 'committed to raising money' for the organisation.  The Mail understands GOSH has previously received donations and is currently in discussions with Mr Scott regarding funds from this year's festival.  A spokesperson for the charity said: 'Kent Food Fest is a third-party event, with the organiser choosing to raise funds in aid of GOSH Charity. The event is organised independently and is not planned or delivered in partnership with the charity.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. 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