The skies are looking ominous…
I look up at the sky and one moment it’s sunny and five minutes later it looks grey. Not the most ideal weather for an outdoor food festival but I’m hoping the gods of fashion look after me and ensure that I don’t get wet. For tonight is the opening night of the Taste of Sydney Festival held in nearby Centennial Park!
From left to right: Matthew Kemp, Justin North and Warren Turnbull
I get there at 4:30pm to see the preparations backstage. I’m expecting the first hour before opening to be frantic much like the final hour before the guests arrive at a dinner party where activity is fraught with panic. Instead, everyone looks casual and relaxed. Justin North from Becasse, Matthew Kemp from Restaurant Balzac and Warren Turnbull from Assiette stand casually chatting before the guests arrive. This year’s Taste of Sydney is 20% bigger than last years and thankfully we see some more places to eat with stand up astroturfed bar tables as well as places to sit and eat. The VIP stand where we’re headed once we have something to eat is full too and closer to the centre of the event. Savoury dishes range from 8-12 crowns and desserts are mostly 8 crowns.
George Francisco unmolds the pannacotta
We head towards the Jonah’s stand where George Francisco shows us how he puts together the famous “wobbly booby” pannacotta. Even after making it for 8 years it still gets a reaction from diners. He shows us the mold, a simple plastic martini glass, slightly higher and taller than a regular one to produce the desired effect. He tells us of how he used to make these using the traditional wide champagne glasses which also appeared like women’s breasts.
At the last Taste of Sydney he sold 2,400 plates of these and it features all year round on the Jonah’s menu at Whale Beach. This means that each week the kitchen has to adjust the recipe slightly to accommodate the differences in temperature. During Summer it melts quicker so it needs slightly more gelatine than in Winter.
Jonah’s: Vanilla Pannacotta with Lavender Honey and Fresh pomegranate 12 crowns
He asks us if we would like a taste and we eagerly dig in. It’s as good as we remembered with just the right amount of crunch from the pomegranates, yielding softness from the wobbly pannacotta and the sweetness from the honey against the tartness of the pomegranates. True to form, later that evening when we see someone else walk past with one, heads turn “What the hell…” someone asks and they all take turns shaking the pannacotta and ogling at the vanilla bean nipple. And they were all girls!
We go to the Becasse stand to check out how they’re doing. They’re making a chocolate souffle for dessert. A souffle? At an outdoor event I ask Justin? “Absolutely confident (fingers crossed) it is a fail safe, twice cooked souffle recipe. We use a very, very unique and amazing local chocolate in the base called Zokoko – it is the best souffle ever!” and invites us to come by later and take a look in the kitchen when they’re busy.
Matt Moran from Aria
We walk around while the stallholders are putting the final touches to everything. Matt Moran from Aria is sitting outside at the front of the stand and it’s their first year there. Is he nervous about this event? He throws me an “Are you kidding?” look and confidently says “Nooo this will be fine”. I ask him the pick of his three dishes and he tells us the Moran Family Lamb Roast and says that 96 lambs are being used for this event alone.
Mark Best from Marque
I pass by Marque where Mark Best is quietly contemplating the evening ahead. We talk for a little while and he tells us that he will there for all four days. Interestingly I learn from the organisers that the restaurants get their stands here for free but split the profits of the crowns with the organisers.
Miguel Maestre from El Toro Loco stirs the rice in a giant paella pan
An already cooking paella
There’s glasses being raised at the El Toro Loco tent nearby and a loud “Salu”. El Toro Loco is also a newbie to the Taste of Sydney but also new to Sydney. The chef Miguel is very chatty and a great promoter of himself and his restaurant which opened in Manly about a month ago. There are huge paella pans that mix up paella and big bags of sofrito that are added to the rice. Each pan makes 100 servings and the size of the two pans is the reason why they have such a huge allocated space. How many of these pans does he expect to make a night? “Two, three or four…or maybe seven!” he says.
Jared Ingersoll from Danks Street Depot
Danks Street Depot: Organic Chicken Liver Parfait with sweet vinegar raisins and dressed baby herbs
An announcement is made over the loudspeaker which gives everyone a final five minutes. We visit Jared Ingersoll at Danks Street Depot where he shows us how he makes the Beef Ribs Smoked in Watermelon. The beef ribs are a square cut and are braised slowly with tomato, pomegranate molasses and other flavours and then are these cooled in the sauce to keep them juicy and they are then smoked. The sauce is then reduced so that it is thick like a syrup.
Danks Street Depot: “Saucy Tart” with a chocolate mousse and liquid raspberry centre 12 crowns
He’s excited though and wants to show his dessert, a “saucy tart” with a chocolate mousse and a raspberry liquid centre. “This one was a headf**k” he says laughing and it took him two months to perfect it. It is a shortcrust shell filled with a chocolate mousse and a raspberry essence and it required an ultra thin shell to contain the water which he made out of cocoa butter and carnauba wax and there was a paint gun involved to get the finish that he wanted.
It’s his second year here and he describes it as “awesome”. He also tells us the fun for them really starts during the break between sessions where chefs get together and eat and things compare “scores” on the number of units sold. “If you go over to Matt Kemp tell him that we’ve got a huge queue and we can’t keep up with the demand” he says with a mischievous look. He offers us a taste of the cake and it’s gorgeous with a fluffy mousse and a strong syrupy raspberry flavour.
The Grumpy Baker
We visit some of the stands in the centre including Pat & Stick’s ice cream sandwiches, the Grumpy Baker who give us a gorgeous round Sourdough loaf of bread that we can’t wait to have tomorrow morning. There is also Rochester Ginger syrup which has the kick of two very angry mules at the end (it does!).
Bitton Gourmet
Pat & Stick’s Ice Cream
Preshafruit
There’s also Bitton Gourmet Foods where you can start with a delicious dip or marinade and then end off with the fresh crepes that they are cooking to accompany their jams. The Preshafruits stand has got to be the best value where a 350ml bottle of their divine cold pressed juice is 2 crowns (it’s $3 at the supermarket) and a 1 litre bottle is four crowns so we buy three 1 litre bottles of the Granny Smith and Orange Juice and a small Apple & Pear juice.
My other partner in crime Christie arrives and we soon go to look for food. We have in our possession 100 crowns for 3 people and the challenge is to feed one hungry man and two moderately hungry females so that price. Would we be able to do it?
Beef ribs smoked in watermelon with a watermelon and avocado salad 12 crowns
We start with the Beef short ribs that Jared has given us to try. They’re incredibly soft and one fork prod into it and I nod happily at the meat parting from the bone. The flavour is very smoky so this is ideal for those who loved smoked food (it’s too smoky for Mr NQN) and it contrasts nicely with the sweet, refreshing salad.
El Toro Loco: Paella a la Maestre 10 crowns
We head towards the El Toco Loco stand. After seeing the huge pans of paella being cooked we just had to try them and Miguel is busy handing out freshly cooked cinnamon churros to everyone. They’re hot and fresh and just about perfect. “Put more rice on that plate” he says to the chef and winks at a customer. Every order is greeted with a big shoutout from the kitchen. We take the paella away and it’s a generous serving with plenty of seafood throughout. We all sample and concur that it’s a lovely paella and at 10 crowns, one of the best value meals there (plus there are free olives) but we want to save space for the rest of the food so hungry man Mr NQN takes over and finishes it.
Plan B: Organic Grass Fed Wagyu Beef Burger 12 crowns
The man needs his meat so we head over to the Becasse/Plan B stand where he orders one of the famous Wagyu burgers and sinks his teeth into it hungrily. Deceptively filling despite its petite size, it’s rich with a tender, juicy patty. You know that you’ve married the right person when they give you a bite of the centre of the burger too. We take a look inside at the action in the Becasse kitchen and they are very busy. The number 1 item? You guessed it, the Wagyu burger for which most of the space is devoted to making.
Plating up more Wagyu burgers in the Becasse kitchen
Flying Fish: Yellow fin tuna with sweet pork crackling and ruby grape fruit 10 crowns
Our tastebuds are demanding and we next try a dish from Flying Fish and the queues are long here too as everyone wants their fix. The yellow fin tuna is sliced thinly and is topped with a tiny piece of pork crackling and underneath lays some slices of rich pork belly. It comes laced with a gorgeous sweet black pepper caramel that I want to run my finger around the plate and lick but don’t (decorum and all that).
Marque: Slow cooked lamb rump, confit capsicum, eggplant caviar and black olive oil 12 crowns
Christie and Mr NQN loved the pink hued slow cooked lamb with eggplant caviar (not really caviar of course but the little seeds inside the eggplant).
Guillame Brahimi
Guillame: Mini Sandwich with Blue Swimmer Crab meat and coriander mayonnaise 10 crowns
When I bumped into Yasmin from The Almond and the Hazelnut filming here she interviewed me and asked me which places I was eager to try. I told her that there were some like Guillame and Berowra Waters Inn that I really wanted to try as I had never visited the restaurant so at least two courses there were a given. We start with the dish that I had highlighted from the start when I first saw the menu. The mini sandwich with crab meat and coriander mayonnaise with three small squares per serve. The white bread is incredibly soft and the crab meat filling with mayonnaise is wondrously good. I just took a bite and said to Christie “I need another one” and motion to get up again and start queuing. Even at 9:30pm when the night was over, I looked at the Guillame stand pining for another.
Guillame: Waygu Beef Daube with Paris Mash 12 crowns
The Wagyu beef daube is soft and incredibly rich and sticky with red wine and sits atop a pool of buttery Paris mash. Sublime. I warn Mr NQN that a visit to Guillame is near but we forego the macarons (a selection of three: strawberry, chocolate and pistachio) as we figure that we can try macarons at other places.
Guillame’s macarons
Dietmar Sawyere
Berowra Waters Inn: Chilled Vichyssoise, Salmon Caviar, Hawkesbury River Oyster Beignet 10 crowns
We walk across the green to the Berowra Waters Inn stand where Dietmar Sawyere stands behind the counter. Four Courses at Berowra Waters Inn will set you back $130 so I was eager to try their food here knowing that it would cost a fraction of that. The chilled Vichyssoise soup is lovely and foamlike but it’s not all bubbles, it’s has more body yet still remains light. Underneath it are salty salmon caviar balls. Accompanying it as Hawkesbury River Oyster Beignets which are deep fried battered oysters that rest on a creamy puree with a slightly bitter taste to it.
Berowra Waters Inn: Quail Breast & Truffled Risotto Croustillant 12 crowns
“Are you back?” they ask smiling. After enjoying the oysters and vichysoisse we had to come back for the main which we saw set down near us. It’s nothing like we expected, that is a pool of risotto topped with quail breast. Instead it’s two oval pieces with a crispy deep fried coating, a filling of truffled risotto and a centre of quail breast accompanied by a vivid green puree. The crunchy and soft texture work wonderfully together and the centre of tender, pink quail is a nice surprise. The only thing stopping me from ordering the dessert is the fact that it was cheesecake foam and I am a bit over foam.
Restaurant Balzac: Crispy Wagyu Beef with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Foam 10 crowns
We see @carmr, Denea, Jen & Lisa at the Balzac stand and they are going crazy over Balzac’s offering so we buy one for ourselves. It’s wagyu beef encased in a pastry casing similar to a spring roll pastry. The foam is not really foam, it’s more a sauce with a lovely, rich slow braised wagyu inside. We think this is the dish to end off our savoury courses.
Flying Fish: Sri Lankan Love cake with raspberry tea coulis 8 crowns
We take a break in the VIP room which is very busy and rest our weary feet. After about half an hour we realise that it’s 9 o’clock and we need to get cracking on spending our last crowns on dessert! Wandering around we have 22 crowns left, not quite enough to get 3 desserts which are mostly at 8 crowns but slightly too many for 2 desserts. Christie and are both intrigued by the Sri Lankan Love cake with raspberry tea coulis back at Flying Fish. We ask about it and it is served at weddings or on special occasions and it’s a soft semolina based dessert with a fragrant honey and rose water scent and a thick raspberry tea sauce. It’s topped with some cream and is lovely, moist and light.
Longrain: Tapioca pudding with poached jackfruit & lychees 8 crowns
Seeking out another dessert we arrive at Longrain who have a bar attached alongside. Upon spotting the dessert option, Mr NQN licks his lips and says “That sounds nice” so we order the dessert. It’s simple but refreshing and gorgeous with the thick coconut cream lubricating the tapioca balls with pieces of jackfruit and lychees for the lucky dippers.
Aria: Strawberry jelly with Champagne foam 8 crowns
They’re busy foaming up their strawberry jellies with champagne foam at Aria and they ask us if we’d like to try them as it’s the end of the night. The jelly is appealingly wobbly but surprisingly I don’t go gaga for the champagne foam and I prefer the jelly by itself.
We’re full and laden down with bags and cameras and at 9:30pm we realise we haven’t had time to check out the classes in our endeavour to sample the dishes on offer. We retreat into the night with our goodies and our stomachs full.
Pros: food is excellent quality even with the outdoor conditions. Lines are generally very short and less than a minute wait. Trying dishes from hatted restaurant for a fraction of what you’d pay there. Free cooking demos, Chef’s tables and wine demonstrations offered. Chef and celebrity spotting.
Cons: The entry fee of $30 doesn’t buy you any dishes, only samples and there aren’t a huge amount of food stands in the Producer’s Market although there is a lot of alcohol (for an averagish person, it may cost about $40-$50/40-50 crowns for just the food not including entry). Restaurants only accept crowns and they come in booklets of $20 and $30. Possibly running out of time to do everything within a session if you graze and drink leisurely.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you enjoy outdoor food festivals?
NQN and Mr NQN visited the Taste of Sydney Festival as a guest of Taste of Sydney
The Taste of Sydney festival will be held at the Brazilian Gardens, off Grand Drive, Centennial Park on the 11th-14th March 2010
Opening times:
Thursday 11th March – 5:30pm-9:30pm
Friday 12th March – 12pm-4pm & 5:30pm-9:30pm
Saturday 13th March – 12pm-4pm & 5:30pm-9:30pm
Sunday 14th March – 12pm-5pm
For more information see the Taste of Sydney website.
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80 Comments | Add your own
Totally random comment, but George has really skinny wrists!
I’m going to the Taste of Sydney tomorrow, can’t wait! I hope it won’t rain!
Wow, I can’t believe Jonah’s has to adjust that dish all the time. Now that’s dedication to the craft!
You’ve also made finding Zokoko chocolate a must for me and my chocolate blog
Other than that… Just wow!! Particularly love the look of all that paella!
The next best thing to being there! Thanks Lorraine. I check in every morning, and your blog never disappoints!
I never want to brave the Taste of Sydney… it always looks too busy, and not very relaxing. I’d rather go to the retaurant.
I am loving the photos of Matt, Mark and Jared. They’re really good Lorraine! x
What a wonderful event. These things make me wish i had a bottomless stomach and non-expanding thighs lol.
*kisses* HH
I swear I need to plan a holiday around this event. My daughter was reading your post and drooling over George’s panna cottas. She is a huge fan. LOL! I was drooling over the saucy tart myself. Looks like so much fun, not to mention food!!
That looks like FOOD HEAVEN to me – what an awesome and fun day! It’s a shame I cant get up to Sydney this weekend
oooh and that Paella pan – how COOL!
Love this post, read it salivating, will read it again!
Thanks for the recap. Now I know what to expect
I want to try so many things, I’m not sure if my stomach will be able to handle it!!
I absolutely can’t wait to go now! Too bad it’s not until tomorrow evening =(
Definitely a nice way to sample some of the top chefs offerings, although the entry fee is a bit steep.
This is yet another one of those posts where I’m reading it making a mental note of what I’m going to mention in my comments and then there’s just thing after thing that looks amazing and I am all of a tizz when I get to the bottom.
That chicken liver parfait gets my vote today. And the beef daube. And the mini burgers…
I. SO. WANT. TO. BE. THERE. I guess i just have to do Taste of London this year and wait patiently until I’m back in Sydney (hopefully next year!). Great write up as always. I LOVE th giant paella… and really Longrain, i LOVE Longrain and the tapioca pudding looks fantastic.
Looks amazing Lorraine – so upset it’s on while I’m in Melbourne. Maybe next year
I die.
Thanks so much for the detailed post. Especially so soon after opening night.
I’m so excited. We are going on Sunday and I was tryng to plan how to use my crowns from the printed menu. Your delicious photos made is so much easier.
Looks like you guys had a great time. Fingers crossed about the weather for Sunday.
SSG xxx
There is so much great stuff going on in Sydney… One of these days I’m going to get myself down there… this seems like a great time to go!
wow lorraine that was quick!
i had tickets to go today but sold them, thanks for the quick picture around the event!
Oh my goodness, Lorraine! What a fun and dizzyingly delicious event.
I love your picture of the bread. Wonderful. 
The infamous panacotta is back!!!!! And you know what.. Berowra Waters is really growing on me even though I’ve never been there yet!
Oh everything just looks delicious Lorraine. I hope I can make it on the weekend. Oh Miguel Maestre. I have a massive crush on him. ehehehe. I would probably go red and trip over if I bump into him.
Terrific Post… thanks Lorraine.
Great round-up! I’m going tonite, so this helps alot to pick what I want to eat first
would have loved to have gone to something like this!
Everything looks so darn spectacular, but I’m still dreamy about the homemade ice cream…
Who won tickets? I must have missed out *sniff sniff*
Can’t wait to go – maybe in gumboots
That pannacotta looks so good!
And the ribs. I’m a sucker for smoked ribs!
Off the topic, but I was pondering as I was listening to a song. Have you ever tried Horchata?
oh wow, so much food. Looks amazing- I bet you just love your job Lorraine!
I WISH I WERE THERE!!!!!!
We’re off there tonight, offloading our kids first.. hooray! Am sending this article to my husband so we can compare ideas on where to go! Lovely.
Wowwwwwwww… A big thanks, Lorraine !
I definitely go for the Beef ribs smoked from Dank St depot (hope that I can get the big piece as in the photo)
Berowra Waters Inn: Quail Breast & Truffled Risotto Croustillant also looks very good..
and entree : Restaurant Balzac: Crispy Wagyu Beef with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Foam is very tempting (last year I tried Wagyu beef thing from this restaurant… superb)
I gonna go there on Sunday… Cant wait !
Ooooh, deeply envious!! Would love to be there!
mmm… I was already hungry before reading this post. Looking good! I cant wait to check it out tomorrow! Hopefully the skies dont open up. Thanks for the insight Lorraine!
I wish I could have been there, this looks amazing, Lorraine! I love how beautifully everything was presented…and I’m dying to try a Saucy Tart!
I live in the middle of nowhere, so alas no food festivals.
I totally want that saucy tart. Don’t know if it is because it looks so delicious or just because of the name…
So. Very. Hungry. Now.
I LOVE food festivals but looking at your photos – I think I would need to re-mortgage my house to be able to eat everything that I liked!! Good thing I’m not a big drinker anymore – more time, money and room for food!!
lol
I went last night and was overall very impressed with the event but the crown to dollar ratio is actually 1 Crown = $2. So 12 Crowns = $24 for a delicious but tiny dessert. It adds up for those of us that must try everything! A good find was Gourmet Dinner Service who were selling frozen gourmet meals at a discounted price. Their samples were delish!
I’m going tonight and super excited! But i’m a bit apprehensive about this crown business…it’s hard to know what the right amount is… i don’t want to waste my crowns or be missing two and only have the option to buy 20 more! tricky. food looks amazing though!
Looks yummy! I’ll be going there tomorrow
Spotted myself in the last photo !! I almost have the dreaded underwear exposed from my jeans happening…. yikes.
I had a good time last night. Luckily I had free entry otherwise it would have been an expensive night. It’s a bit odd that they can’t sell individual crowns. It gets quite frustrating trying to balance your money towards the end.
This looks great. I am attending tonight. Soooo Excited!!!!!!
The Taste of Sydney seems so much bigger than its Melbourne counterpart. I hope ours is on soon as I really enjoyed it last time. If only I could score myself some free tickets that would at least knock off the cost a bit.
Love them. I started getting excited when the food at music festivals got more exciting than hot dogs and chips. Gozleme. Mmmm. I wouldn’t have been able to resist the macarons.
Thanks for the quick update. I can’t wait to go again this year, and to try Jonah’s booby panna cotta (again). Just praying for NO RAIN tomorrow!
Ooh! I love that you’ve already been there to scope it out for us all. Now I know what I’ll be having when I go on Sunday!!
Wow, what an incredible event! I’m very impressed by that giant paella!
this a fantastic posting…
I love to attend for shows…Its great to get to know the Chefs and their food .
Great photos
Thanks so much for the map! whenever I go to Centennial Park I get completely lost.
I was looking forward to Taste, but then the $30 tickets made me reconsider going. Luckily I got free tickets at the last minute for tonight!!!
Hi Lorraine, I kept an eye out you, but didn’t see you – you were probably rubbing shoulders with the celebs and VIPs in the VIP tent
Like yourself, I was suprised by the presentation of the Quail breast croustillant from Berowra Waters Inn, but wasn’t it fantastic?! So crispy outer, risotto was perfect and I have to admit I didn’t lick the plate, but I did wipe the green puree off with my finger and lick my finger clean! Other favourite dishes: Crispy Waygu and Saddle of suckling pig from Balzac and Yellow Curry from Longrain.
It was so velvety. It was the first time I/we have tried panna cotta and I’m glad my first was from one of the best.
I agree with your pros and cons. If it wasn’t for some complimentary tickets from my brother, I probably wouldn’t have gone purely for the cost factor. My husband and I ended up buying 12 dishes that we shared and spent just under what we would have spent for degustation (for one) at a restaurant.
But the event definately broadened our horizons to the top notch restaurants of Sydney. And now he’s got some ideas on where to go to celebrate those special occasions
Our stand out favourite for the night was the 12 hour slow cooked lamb shoulder from Four in Hand. You just had to look at the lamb and it fell apart and the crushed pea dressing was devine
My husband will be so pleased when I tell him he was on the right track with the panna cotta from Jonah’s. He happily prodded it, sniggering “boob!” like a 14-year old boy, while I tried to tell him to behave
And it turned out to be a good thing we couldn’t get parking close to the entry – we definately needed the long walk back to the car after all that food
I was wanting to go to Taste of Sydney with a couple of friends, but I can’t afford $30 entry PLUS the cost of the crowns for food…oh well.. hopefully just seeing and reading your account will satisfy me.
Thanks for letting us in on your tour of the festival!
you seem to have such an exciting n interesting life and add food to that ..it couldnt get better!
So they do this every year at this month? Did I ever mention that I might be coming to Sydney to study abroad? Yippee! I’ll definitely have to partake in this!
So,so, so, very excited, we’re all going tomorrow, hope the weather will be kind. Thanks for your summation Lorraine, now I have a good idea of some of the dishes to try. Last year I ran out of time because we procrastinated too long in the VIP lounge and didn’t get to see half the stalls, so we know what to do this year. I also found that the crowns weren’t enough and had to buy extra but it’s a great day out and so much delicious food to eat. I’m giving myself a ‘free’ ( eat what I want) day and back on the program come Sunday. Oh Bliss!
You’re a wealth of information, Lorraine. I spotted half a rambutan in Longrain’s Tapioca pudding with poached jackfruit & lychees!
Great summary of what’s on, really don’t like crowds and queueing so I like to do it vicariously – the ideal zero calorie degustation!
paint guns, giant paella pans, and breast-shaped desserts, oh my! i want to taste sydney.
What an amazing event and so much good food! Look at that Paella! I would have to starve myself for 3 days before going to the event!
Just as well it’s lunchtime, because I’m now very hungry!
I love the opportunity that Food Festivals bring (ours tend to be a mixture of open air – or very tented – and in buildings, because you just can’t guarantee the weather except to expect at least a wee bit of damp) – it’s lovely to sample restuarants that might be a little above ones price range, or maybe find a new ingredient, supplier or method. I must check out when the next localish one is!
Aww! I didn’t see you there!
I absolutely loved the souffle and wagyu beef burger! Didn’t have the chance to taste quiiite as much as you did though!
It was an awesome night nonetheless!
hi lorraine !! great festival and I am so amazed by the quality and creativity of the dishes !!
and Oh I see that the skyes are quite grey in Aussieland would that mean the summer comes to an end, ahahaha ! now it is our turn now Revenge !!!
cheers from a sunny Paris
I’m going to Taste on Sunday and I can’t wait (I’ll be seeing Jamie Oliver afterwards as well)! Looking forward to the pannacotta and Danks smoked beef ribs Mmmmm…
I was there last night. I was generally quite disappointed. I expected the dishes to be tastier, but generally quite average. I don’t think the dishes actually reflect the quality of the restaurants. The best thing I had by far was Guillame’s wagyu and paris mash. The rest were just average at best. That’s without taking the price into account…. Taste of Sydney sucks!
Yum. They all look delicious. Would love to go but I’m only flying in to Sydney tomorrow noon
I have just eaten dinner- and after seeing all of those amazing dishes my stomach is growling! I would love to meet Mat Moran, he seems very cool. Great post NQN!!
NGN love the blog.
I went to the afternoon session today and loved it. Really enjoyed the souffle, and the crispy wagyu beef.
Got to see Matt Moran cook which was fun.
My goodness that chicken liver parfait and ‘Saucy Tart’ look so luscious! Didn’t go this year…how unfortunate!
Oooh, great post. I really like the look of the crispy wagyu dish from Balzac.
I can’t wait for Taste (London) in June, I went last year and it was excellent. I do agree that it can get expensive though.
Because you were VIP did this mean you got VIP service too? Our plate of paella was not quite as high as yours and definately did not have as much seafood. The small bottles of juice from Preshafruits were 4 crowns each and being second last session there was only apple & strawberry left. We bought two and the guy gave them to us for 6 crowns. I did enjoy the experience though.
Angie-No, we didn’t get VIP service because we had VIP tickets (as a lot of other people did). The people that dish it up have no idea whether people have VIP tickets or not. Obviously it sounds like they had raised the Preshafruit prices.
Oh wow, so many good dishes here. That tuna and crackling is calling me, and so is the mini sandwich even though I normally detest white bread! Not so sure about the panna cotta though… it’s kinda uhh.. pointy for a boob… more like a pear?
Yes I love outdoor food festivals like this. Spent today at a Chilli Festival in fact! So far doesn’t look like I suffered any sunburn to match my mouthburn.
A great post Nigella!
In reply to Lyssa crowns = $1 and were sold in either $10 or $30 booklets however one voucher = 2 crowns. eg for a dish costing 12 crowns you needed to hand over 6 vouchers = 12 crowns = $12.
I agree that the entry price was steep however the crowns to meal ratio were very reasonable for great restaurant food.
We bought last minute tickets, at half the price, to Fridays day session of Taste and had a fabulous time eating, meeting chefs, catching up with Mark Best and Jared Ingersoll.
We ate Longrain’s yellow curry, Marque’s Cured ocean trout, Dank St’s Smoked Rib with watermelon and the saucy tart, Flying fish’s prawns,Bennelong’s macaroons to take home and spent my remaining crowns on a Pat and Sticks icecream which the very lovely guys gave me a discount on as the crown bank had closed.
I was left to my own and chanced upon an empty chefs table about to start with Armando from Buon Ricardo and hosted by Gourmet Travellers delightful Pat Nourse.
I didn’t want to leave and now wish I’d tried the pannacotta which I saw a group of friends giggling over.
We went on Friday and ate and ate – but I was surprised that things I thought I would love (Wagyu beef burger from Plan B) I didn’t like, and the things I was fairly ambivalent about (Longrain’s yellow curry) was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Weird. Loved tuna from Flying Fish, adored suckling pig from Balzac and the crab sandwiches from Guillaume at Bennelong were divine. I was lying in bed last night thinking about them! Found the quail from Berowra too greasy which was sad cause it could have been amazing and the wagyu from Bennelong was too much meat not enough mash! Could have done with some more vegetable dishes – I felt very meat heavy at the end. All in all, my first Taste of Sydney won’t be my last!
Was lovely to hang out with you and gorge on all the yummy food Lorraine! For those of you contemplating going next year – make a note in your diary now, it’s a must-do Sydney event!
I want me a large dish of paella – it looks fabulous!
Thanks again for the tickets!!! I went on Sunday and had a fabulous time! Even had a chance to take some photos and blog about my experience too.
Thanks again for the tickets!!! I went on Sunday and had a fabulous time! Even had a chance to take some photos and blog about my experience too.
Wonderful photos – and all different dishes from the ones that we tried on the same day too!
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