Food festivals are soaring in popularity. But are they good for chefs?

It seems like it’s every other day that a new food festival pops up on social media. Some of these events sound incredible—advertising unlimited bites from marquee chefs, all in one place. It almost sounds too good to be true. And maybe it is, for some business owners.

Hanna Raskin is a food writer and restaurant critic for The Post and Courier in Charleston. She recently reported on what she calls the “festival industrial complex” for the Los Angeles Times and Southern Alliance Foodways.