The Ten Best Things to Do at Sydney Good Food Month 2013

Christmas has come early for foodies. Sydney's Good Food Month is Australia's largest food festival, a sprawling event which includes everything from bargain deals in suburban hotspots to extravagant harbourside dining, a cacophony of events running the gamut from casual picnics to buzzing parties.

There's a real focus this year on ethical dining, with locally sourced produce and sustainable consumption a theme in numerous events. Pop-ups are also in vogue, with The Mint and Sydney Markets hosting events, while another intriguing pop-up dinner event starts with a treasure map and a Surry Hills laneway.

The special deals are also back, with Let’s Do Lunch offering the chance to have a lunch with a glass of Brown Brothers wine or a Coopers Beer with tea or coffee for only $38. Always a great way to sample some of Sydney's fine diners at a more affordable price, this year's participating restaurants include est, Aria, The Bathers’ Pavilion Restaurant and Gastro Park. For the first time, there’s also The Supper Club, which offers late-night dining and aperitifs.

Over a million people are expected to attend the festival, whose calendar is packed with more than 500 events. Concrete Playground has sorted through the program to select these mouth-watering highlights.

Night Noodle Markets

Long a staple of Good Food Month, the Night Noodle Markets are the ideal after-work hangout, combining the bustling atmosphere of an Asian hawker market with the opportunity to kick back with a couple of drinks and watch the sun go down in Hyde Park. Over 200,000 people attended last year, and with many of Sydney's top Asian restaurants amongst the stallholders, this year promises to be just as popular.

October 9-12, 14-19, 21-26; Hyde Park North

Rene Redzepi: A Work in Progress

Head chef at Copenhagen's illustrious Noma, named the best restaurant in the world three years in a row, the extravagantly talented Redzepi is one of the most inventive food makers on the planet, infusing his visually striking creations with a real sense of playfulness and wonder. The menu at his impossible-to-get-into restaurant has included crawling ants, edible flowerpots and live shrimp in a jar of ice. At this event he discusses his work and pre-launches his new book A Work in Progress: Notes on Food, Cooking and Creativity, which combines recipes, photos and an extensive journal of a year at the pinnacle of the food world. There's also a dinner with Redzepi, which promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience.

28 October, Sydney Opera House, tickets from $45

Dinner in the Sky

Every great meal is memorable but it's fair to say this is one you're never going to forget: dinner at a table hoisted 50 metres into the sky, complete with waitstaff and a chef in the centre of the table attending to the 22 diners. It's been a sensation overseas and Good Food Month brings it to Australia for the first time.

11-13, 18-20, 25-27 October, Moore Park, Tickets from $230

Omnivore

Originating in France, Omnivore is an international tour de force that emphasises an innovative approach to the culinary arts by breaking down barriers between chef and consumer, method and madness. Part of the Omnivore repertoire is a series of masterclasses, to be held at the National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, which promises to reveal the secrets of the masterminds behind a number of Sydney and Paris's most beloved kitchens.

If you're more of an appreciator than a creator in the kitchen, however, Omnivore's pop-up dinners may be more your style. For $120 per head, you can experience a feast crafted from the freshest local ingredients and paired with a selection of world-class wine at Sixpenny in Chippendale. Prepared by James Parry and Daniel Puskas, the dynamic duo behind Sixpenny, in collaboration with Sven Chartier, famed for his farm-to-table approach to French cuisine at Saturne in Paris, this pop-up dinner is just one of a handful of banquet options on the menu between Friday, 4 October, and Sunday, 6 October.

3-6 October, Australian National Maritime Museum, Tickets from $45

Jamming and Jammin'

Rosebery’s Kitchen By Mike has been a revelation with its back-to-basics food, which uses radical simplicity and topnotch ingredients to great effect. They host this event, where the affable Mike teams with Grant (Three Blue Ducks) and Matt (Hands Lane) teach you how to make your own jams and preserves. Throw in live music and a charcuterie dinner and it sounds like a winner.

2 October 6-10pm, 1/85 Dunning Ave Rosebery, Tickets $75

Pop-Up Ethical @ Cake Wines HQ

There's a real focus on ethical food consumption this year, and this event by community-minded winemakers Cake Wines (they give 25 cents from each bottle sold to community radio) is a prime example. Their previous pop-up wine bars have been excellent, and this three-course feast promises to take their commitment to ethical production to the next level, focusing on ethically sourced food which is locally produced and minimises waste. Their dining hall in Redfern will be transformed for the event, which includes a cocktail on arrival, a range of craft beers and wines as well as art and music.

10-11 October, Redfern St Redfern, Tickets $90

Bucket List Seafood Fest

Part of Bondi’s resurgent dining and bar scene, The Bucket List are seafood specialists, offering the likes of lobster spaghetti, mussels and the ubiquitious fish and chips opposite the famous beach. Their weekend-long seafood fest offers the opportunity to attend a seafood masterclass (a bargain at $30 which includes a glass of wine and food) or you can simply wander through the stalls and feast on a range of seafood for as little as $10 a plate.

25-27 October 12-6pm, Shop 1 Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Pavillion

Mariachi Monday Mexican Markets

Fans of alliteration and Mexican culture will want to mark this one in their diaries; it combines fiery food, latin music and a street party in Macquarie Place. Having previously won awards for Sydney's Best Tacos, the La Lupita team have moved permanently into The Basement and this event celebrates their authentic approach to Mexican cuisine.

28 October 6-9pm, The Basement 7 Macquarie Place Sydney, Free

Oz Harvest Hunger Buster Food Truck

Oz Harvest are a charity that rescues food that would be wasted and redistributes it to local charities. To date they’ve rescued almost 6 million kilograms of food that would otherwise have been landfill. For this Good Food Month, they have a series of food trucks which will be dotted throughout the CBD. By day they'll be offering affordable Middle Eastern favourites like hummus, tabouleh and falafel ($5-15). For every $1 the trucks raise, Oz Harvest will be able to provide two meals to people who need them. By night, the trucks will serve free meals to the homeless or hungry. You can also purchase a meal 'forward', meaning it goes to those in need.

1-21 October 11am-3pm, Various locations (check their facebook page for details)

Wild Tucker @ Eveleigh Markets

Eveleigh's Carriageworks hosts one of Sydney’s best farmers' markets every Saturday, and on Saturday, 19 October, they take their commitment to interesting use of local produce to another level with this event, which will introduce you to the exciting flavours of bush tucker. Aboriginal elder Aunty Beryl Van Oploo and Billy Kwong head chef Kylie Kwong team up with Skye Blackburn, an expert on insects as food, for a talk and cook-up based on this exciting new foodie frontier.

19 October, 243 Wilson St Darlington, Free

Check out the full program at the sydney.goodfoodmonth.com.