The Ten Tastiest Events You Can Still Get Tickets for at Sydney Good Food Month 2016
Fancy garden parties, Chinatown markets, vegan dinners and sensory dining experiences.
The Ten Tastiest Events You Can Still Get Tickets for at Sydney Good Food Month 2016
Fancy garden parties, Chinatown markets, vegan dinners and sensory dining experiences.
A midnight feast, a sensory degustation and a fancy schmancy picnic catered by some of the hottest chefs in town are among the highlights of this year's spectacular Good Food Month program. Taking over Sydney for the whole month of October, this annual culinary cavalcade will once again see the city transformed into the foodie equivalent of Valhalla, with parties, sit-down dinners and everything in-between to satisfying your most extravagant cravings.
This year they're packing as much as they can into every one of the 31 days in October. And while a heap of the big ticket events — such as the Golden Century midnight feast — have already sold out, there's still a heap you can still sneak in to. Clear your calendar and start fasting now.
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This year Good Food Month will wrap up with an uber-posh, Hamptons-inspired picnic in Centennial Park — so dig out your finest 1920s garden party dress and your mad croquet skills. Taking care of the catering will be Matt Moran, who’ll be bringing a piece of his Woollahra restaurant Chiswick with him, alongside Three Blue Ducks duo Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy. Somehow, they’ll be carting a half-tonne barbecue into the park and frying up a storm. Come dessert time, you’ll be lingering over Alistair Wise (Sweet Envy) and Andy Bowdy’s creations. And, needless to say, there’ll be all the Pimms cocktails you can handle.
Tickets at $95 and include entry as well as six food and drink tokens. Party kicks off at midday.
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It’s hard to get through Good Food Month without slipping into the fairyland that is Hyde Park’s famous Night Noodle Markets. But, for a more boutique experience, try out Little Eat Street’s offerings. This alternative night market takes over Dixon and Little Hay Streets every Friday evening throughout October from 5pm. Without walking more than a few hundred metres, you’ll get to take a culinary journey from Hong Kong to Hanoi.
Name an Asian dish and you’ll find it — yum cha, teppanyaki, takoyaki, sushi and spicy Sichuan are all on the agenda. While you’re there, give our Chinatown cheap eats list a test run.
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Twelve of Australia’s best chefs are getting together at OzHarvest’s HQ over ten nights to, firstly, bring you delicious feasts and, secondly, raise money for people in need. Each evening a new chef will take over the kitchen to create three courses (matched with wines) for just 40 ticket holders. A seat at the table costs $200 — and every sold out event will provide 16,000 meals for others. Choose from a whole slew of chefs from Sydney’s best restaurants, including the culinary experts from Bennelong, Sixpenny, Firedoor and Nomad.
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Sparkling wine is often relegated to pre- or post-degustation status. But, at this long, long dinner, you’ll be sticking to bubbles all evening long. Because it’s in sparkling varieties Prosecco, Lambrusco, Franciacorta and Spumante that chef Paola Toppi has found inspiration for each of the six courses in this special one-off dinner held as part of the Bolle Italia sparkling wine festival and Good Food Month. All in all, you’ll get to try no fewer than 11 Italian drops.
The feasting and sampling will take place under the watchful eye of Bar Machiavelli‘s black and white projections. Formerly a tyre factory, the restaurant is now a paean to Italian culinary excellence, from the fresh house-made pastas to the cracking wine list. The dinner costs $145 per person but includes six epic courses and 11 (yes, 11) sparkling wines. You will be rolling out of there.
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To tell you the truth, we know as much about this event as you do: next to nada. And that’s exactly the point. Well Sensered Food is a mysterious, multi-sensory dining experience that aims to disrupt everything you know — or you think you know — about eating out. So, until the night, every detail is top-secret, from the location (which is presented via a hand-drawn map) to the menu. That said, rumour has it that you’ll be sipping your away through somewhere between seven and ten cocktails and that every course will have a story to tell — at some point during the evening you might even be at risk of being blindfolded. Check out a past happening over here.
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Here’s one for you, friends of the animals. Yalumba is travelling all the way from South Australia’s Barossa Valley to Woolloomooloo’s Otto Ristorante for a 100 percent vegan feast. Absolutely everything on the menu — we’re talking every ingredient in all three courses to the matching wines — will have been created without the involvement of furred, feathered or finned critters. Also, Yalumba’s winemaker Sam Wigan will be making a special appearance to discuss the importance of sustainability and the significance of veganism to our culinary and alcoholic future. In-between courses and chats, kick back and soak up the Harbour views, guilt-free.
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If you haven’t yet had a gander at Harold Park’s just-opened Tramsheds, here’s your excuse. Every Thursday in October, various eateries at the new foodie hotspot will be hosting their take on Food Tales. In other words, they’ll be telling you all the stories — old and new — about the dishes they serve up. Ever wondered where pasta comes from or what eating it means to the Italians? Curious about how sustainable fishing works and why it’s important? Not sure how Gelato Messina started and when it got so damn big? Get yourself along and find out. While you’re there, check out the Shoot The Chef photography exhibition.
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You’re bound to smell this one happening before you even get there. That’s because barbecue master Carey Bingle is coming all the way from the U.S. of A. to light up Harpoon Harry‘s smoker. Bingle is the man behind legendary Nashville restaurant Peg Leg Porker, where folk stars Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings dine regularly. And he has smoking running through his veins — he spent his childhood in the company of his barbecuing grandpa, hanging out at places like Bozo’s Hot Pit Bar-B-Q, Lewis’ Store, and Leonard’s Pit Barbecue. For just 50 bucks, you’ll be fed like royalty and given a welcoming drink to boot.
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Several of Sydney’s villages are getting on the Good Food Month bandwagon with their own events, from Paddo’s William Street Festival to Newtown’s Good Food Fair. The good folks of Potts Point are inviting you to join them for a small bar hop. You’ll spend the evening roaming from one bar to another, sampling signature cocktails, fine wines and craft beers, matched with tasting plates. The first hop is sold out already, but tix are still going for the second. Your adventure will include stops at Jangling Jacks, where the drinks are named after legendary locals, speakeasy-inspired Parson’s in leafy Kellett Street and and Waterman’s Lobster Co. where the lobster rolls are named according to US states.
Tickets cost $95 and include a drink and a snack at each of the three venues.
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Name says as name does. This is really, truly, your chance to eat dinner in a moving Ferris wheel. And it’s not just any dinner, by the way — nor just any Ferris wheel either, for that matter. We’re talking a three-course banquet, created by Michael Roper, executive chef at The Deck, and delivered to your private car in Luna Park’s 40-metre high fairground attraction. So you’ll be getting five-star harbour views to go with your five-star meal and matching wines. We can’t pretend it’s not going to set you back a motser. But it’s a three-course dinner in a Ferris wheel. A Ferris wheel. Did we mention the Ferris wheel?
Tickets are $399 and include the carriage, a three-course meal and matching wines for two. To book, call (02) 9033 7670.
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