Monday, June 26, 2006

Good Food and Wine Show 2006, Sydney

Having just done a recent bout of night shifts at the network, I have been going crazy. But what do you do when your mother tells you she has bought you tickets to the Good Food and Wine Show, even when you haven’t had any sleep from the night before? Well you still take the offer; of course I’m never one to turn down a freebie. Even at the risk of potential madness and irritation, I decided to go.

After having knocked off five out of seven night-shifts in a row, your body goes into this state of either constant awakedness or sleepiness. When the day kicked-off it was certainly awakedness I was feeling, I was excited to attend my first GFAW Show. Then after hours in the exhibition hall battling the hordes of people, it went from awake to sleepy to aggravated. To the point where I wanted to crash tackle this sweet old lady nibbling on her
King Island Double Brie, oblivious to the fact she was standing in the middle of the walkway blocking everyone’s path.

This reminded me why I didn’t go to the Easter Show. I don’t do crowds very well. Markets are pleasant enough as they are outdoors, but being in this crammed space where you can barely walk two feet in front of you without doing a shuffle is just not my cup of tea. As one who obviously dislikes great crowds, I don't know how I managed to delude myself into going. I blame my mother’s gentle art of persuasion.

Despite all the pretty lights, the place was actually not conducive to photography, especially photography without the use of a flash. Maybe I’m just a bad photographer, but I need LOTS of light. Also the throngs of people made it very difficult to get a clear shot of anything. There would always be some person’s hand in your shot grabbing free goodies. People aren't as nice as they are in the markets, they won't move just so you can take a photograph. Navigating the crowds with goodie bags in tow, all the while attempting to capture things on your digital camera, wasn't very pleasant.

Be that as it may, I shouldn’t nit pick too much, as there was free food to be had, and I got to have lots of that free food. The wine and beer was flowing, and I got to have lots of that free wine and beer. So ultimately, the only thing I am complaining about are the crowds. Whinger.

So without further insomniac-ridden adieu here are the photos. I will try to describe them as accurately as I can, but in my insomnia-induced state, I cannot vouch for any sort of accuracy. Sorry.

Strawberries
Fresh juicy Strawberries from the
Batlow Fruit Co-operative

Ben O'Donoghue Live Show Sensational Seafood
Ben O'Donohue of Surfing the Menu fame live cooking demonstration. One of his dishes was a Sugar Miso Encrusted Shark Fillet. It was quite an interesting mix of flavours and the place smelled of burnt sugar afterwards, yum.

Avocado Oil
Avocado Oil from
The Grove

Live Honeybees!
Live honeybees at work

Thirst Beverages Green Tea Shake
Green Tea Frappe (Gluten Free) from
Thirst Beverages

Assorted Vinegars and Jams
Assorted vinegars and preserves

Escargot shells
Empty escargot shells

Free Food
Laksa sampling

Whisk and PIn
Delicious cookies from the ladies of
Whisk and Pin. The Pistachio Cranberry Shortbread was a delight. They also sell Rocky Road meusli, yummo.

Edible Blooms
The most adorable stand by far.
Edible Blooms' boquet of flower cookies, in Honey and Chocolate flavours.

Hot Chocolate

Creamy Hot Chocolate

Salmon Jerky
First time encounter with Salmon Jerky , which was quite tasty, in fact I kept going back for more.

Chocolates by Jeff de Bruges
The most exceptional chocolates by
Jeff de Bruges. The coffee infused chocolate beans were particularly good.

Darren Simpson of La Sala
By far one of the most entertaining live demonstrations was by Irish lad Darren Simpson, from
La Sala. His sarcarstic and jovial nature drew quite a crowd. He made a simple Osso Bucco with parsley salad and bruschetta, and a Steamed Coral Trout on a bed of clams and wilted baby spinach. Simple authentic Italian fare, it was great.

Lilydale Free Range Chickens
Rows of free-range chicken from
Lilydale Farms.

Fresh Pasta from Pasta Vera
Freshly made pasta from Pasta Vera in Pyrmont.


We also attended the Donna Hay
live cooking show (no pictures though), where she showcased three quick and easy dishes from her book 10-minute meals.

Also my new favourite beer is from the James Squire Brewhouse
called Porter. It is a dark, although not too thick and syrupy beer. It bears slight coffee and musk undertones and apprently goes well with a slice of chocolate cake. That last tidbit of information was the beer's selling point for me.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

haha i know what you mean about crowds! at the markets ppl are generally more relaxed and easygoing but once youre in a place with walls ppl turn into lunatics!

BEVERLY! said...

The crowds were pretty insane, hey :X I ended up taking over 100 photos though, but only a few ended up on my food blog in a collage - just too many! :P

Loved all the samples, some of the food was awesome. Glad you liked it too!

Anonymous said...

hi, you've got a cool blog! im an avid baker & foodie myself too. keep up the good work!

Sara said...

Looks like a very nice event and good looking food!

Jen said...

Chocolate Suze- I have come to the conclusion that I will stick to the markets, they are as you said much more relaxed and the crowds aren't as big.

Beverly- yes the samples were probably the best part of the whole event, it made up for having to battle the crazy crowd.

Evan- Thanks, I think my baking is better than my cooking so i think ill stick to that : )

Sara- there was certainly lots of gastronomic eye candy at this event.