Look, I’m a big fan of food. I made an aioli dip all by myself to go with some fish I fried tonight, OK? Me and food go way back. Just trust me.

I love food, but I didn’t love the launch for Liverpool Food and Drink Festival today, taking placed in a fenced-off enclosure in Sefton Park.

I suppose in many ways it was a victim of its own success, but the congestion in the enclosure and queues evident throughout the day weren’t a lot of fun.

In the end I frequented three of the stalls, selected simply because they were the quietest, because the thought of spending any more time than necessary jostling for position to buy a £5 burger may have driven to insanity.

Insanity, by the way, is probably the only thing that would convince me to buy some of the more expensive wares on show.

In the end I managed some takoyaki, some smoked haddock fishcakes and some bits of cake, but to sample any more food would have required a commitment to spend most of the day standing in queues.

Not standing in queues wasn’t much better, as the enclosure on the whole was too small. Kids hated it, and spent their time loudly broadcasting this fact around the site.

It was badly laid out, and badly planned. Maybe they weren’t expecting as many people, maybe the weather or Marco Pierre-White brought more people out of the woodwork. I’d guess that none of the businesses in attendance were complaining but, ironically, I was prepared to part with much more cash than I did.

In the end it was more of a celebration of the British fascination with queueing rather than gastronomy.

Anyway, with that little bitch off my chest I’ll recommend stuff relating to the festival over the following week. There’s a whole host of offers on at various eateries around the town this week.

I think it’s always best to get a personal recommendation with restaurants, as ownerships and talent seem to move around so quickly, so ask around regarding which ones are worth trying.

Still, for £15 a head or at half-price at some of the more exclusive places this week you can’t go far wrong. A great opportunity to try something new, like food festivals should be.

So, Liverpool Food and Drink Festival. I applaud the idea, a better-prepared launch next year wouldn’t go amiss though.