Good Food and Wine Show, Sydney

Good Food and Wine Show, Sydney

Thursday 2 - Sunday 5 July 2009

On the weekend just passed, Craig, myself and friends headed to the Sydney Good Food and Wine show at Darling Harbour. It was the event de-jour on Friday, Saturday or Sunday for anyone with a love of all things gastronomical. With hundreds of exhibitors promoting over a thousand products from the humble cracker to gourmet confectionary and boutique beers to top shelf liquor, the show had something for everyone.

There were plenty of taste testing products to be devoured and also the chance to buy them at a bargain price and for an extra $20 you had the option to purchase tickets to see a live demonstration by Gordon Ramsay in the celebrity theatre.

As Craig and I had already been to its Melbourne counterpart the month earlier we kind of knew what we were getting ourselves in for, however upon arrival at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre we were not prepared for the crowds that confronted us. Granted it was Saturday and probably the busiest day of the show, we didn’t let it deter us and carried on ahead to see what goodies were on offer.

When we first arrived and entered the show, we shuffled our way a few metres then came to a stand still where the crowd of people became denser and denser. As I am not the tallest person in the world, I stood on my tip-toes and in the distance I could see Gary Mehigan on stage presenting some of his recipes to a crowd of eager onlookers. Realising we would not get any closer we took advantage of the situation and began wandering the aisles of stalls tasting and taking in all that was on offer.

A handful of local chefs such as Toby Puttock (Fifteen), Matt Moran (Aria), Gary Mehigan, George Colambaris (MasterChef) and Ben O’Donoghue from ‘Surfing The Menu’ also delighted patrons by presenting live demonstrations throughout the course of the show and at the Lindemans Early Harvest Restaurant you were able to purchase a meal created by these chefs with accompanying wine for a modest price, which we didn’t do as we were more interested in the wine tasting!

Dozens of Australian winemakers (think: Cedar Creek, McGuigans, McWilliams, Brown Brothers and De Bortoli) were represented, promoting top quality Aussie wines and offering free samples to all and sundry. And with all that all that drinking it certainly builds up quite an appetite and you find yourself in the perfect surroundings to fill those cravings.

The unique aromas of handmade pastries and chocolates, smelly cheeses and exotic spice blends, oriental and Italian delicacies and all added to the heady atmosphere that fuelled our apetite.

Poultry, Game and Farm providores all had their fine produce on offer, and there were producers of organic food, tea, coffee and chocolate as well as suppliers of cutlery and table linen.

All in all it was ultimate place to indulge your senses. And the four of us came a way with a satisfying belly full of gourmet morsels and a few bags full of inspiring produce and wares to recreate and attempt all that we had seen and learnt throughout such a wonderful day.