Food lovers were treated to a delightful array of desserts at the opening event of the City Food Festival yesterday.

Those undeterred by the weather enjoyed a park atmosphere in the foyer of City Hall while sampling creations by the MEF Group, which was catering the event, The Pastry Girl, Bermuda Cupcake Company, Confections and Sweet Saak Bakery.

“This is the first time we’ve done Just Desserts,” Vicki Abraham, the communications and rentals coordinator at the City of Hamilton, said, adding that the event was the start of the weeklong City Food Festival.

“We thought we’d kick off the event with a decadent flavour,” she said. According to Ms Abraham, the silver-service style of serving the petit fours or tapas-style desserts was designed to make people feel spoilt and thoroughly looked after.

Ms Abraham added that she was delighted to see people making an effort to attend despite the torrential rain, which led to the event moving from its original location in Queen Elizabeth Park to City Hall.

“It was designed to be held in a park so this is not optimum,” she said. “We’ve brought the park inside.”

But she added: “We were really pleased with the number of people interested. It sold out. It’s an indicator of what’s to come. We’re looking forward to having a full house at each event.”

Those in attendance were welcomed by town crier Ed Christopher and treated to live entertainment, including a rendition of Etta James’s At Last by singer Olivia Hamilton. Ms Abraham added that the idea behind the weeklong food festival was to bring people into the City, especially on the weekends, while experiencing something new and fresh.

As part of the City Food Festival, a chef competition will be held today and Wednesday, a wine tasting and food pairing on Thursday and the Bacardi Bartender competition will take place on Friday. Bermuda’s Street Food Festival will be held on Saturday.

While some of the events require a ticket, the food walk in Chancery Lane tomorrow is free. Ms Abraham said people will be able to sample tapas-style food from Ruby Murrys, Pearl, Common Ground Café and Bistro J.

•For more information, visit www.ptix.bm/cityfoodfestival