Sydney's favourite pop-up food festival at Centennial Park
The culinary term "degustation" has been defined as the careful and appreciative tasting of various foods, with the focus on stimulating the gustatory system via high culinary art among good company. In other words it is the stimulation of the sensory system responsible for taste. How convenient that the aptly named Taste of Sydney food festival is upon us once again. Unlike a usual degustation which regularly consists of eight or more small courses accompanied by matching wines, the Taste of Sydney food festival allows you consume as many courses as you like. Better still, guests can construct their own menu mixing and matching between the various outdoor pop-up restaurants. The additional benefit is that you are at the same time able to sample the picturesque surrounds of Sydney's centennial parklands.
Previous editions of the Taste of Sydney festival have been extremely successful. It really has become the definitive pop-up restaurant food festival in Australia. The concept allows each corner of Sydney's culinary world to come together and mingle as well as share ideas. More importantly it offers guests the opportunity to sample some of the more gastronomic delights that Sydney has to offer via some of the best restaurants in town.
- 4Fourteen
- Ananas Bar & Brasserie
- Biota Dining
- Efendy
- Four in Hand
- Jonah's
- L'étoile
- Muse Dining
- Popolo
- Porteno
- Saké Restaurant & Bar
- Three Blue Ducks
- The Cut Bar & Grill
- The Woods
- Malaysia Kitchen Pop Up
Although most of these venues have notable mentions in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide for 2013, only four of these restaurants are prestigious winners of the infamous one and two hat awards. The first that needs to be mentioned is Jonah's Restaurant, which is an 80 year old institution in Sydney's northern beaches. Pacific Ocean views compliments of its proximity to Whale Beach, along with retro interior complement its fine dining experience. Typical main menu prices at Jonah's are usually $45. Best of all you can stay overnight.
Probably the most distinguished of the hat winning restaurants to feature at this years Taste of Sydney are 4Fourteen and Four in Hand. Under the guidance of Irish super chef Colin Fassnidge, 4Fourteen has recently been awarded one hat in the Good Food Guide. Moreover, Colin Fassnidge has maintained Four in Hand's impressive two hat status for 2013. With a clever fine dining take on the British gastropub melding with a reputation for stellar service, Four in Hand will no doubt be a crowd favourite at this years Taste of Sydney food festival.
Last but not least Sake Restaurant & Bar will be making its mark on this years festival. Sake has again maintained its one hat status in 2013, which was initially awarded when it first opened its doors. Under the guidance of sushi samurai Shaun Pressland, Sake has set the standard for Japanese in the Rocks area of Sydney. The menu has been inspired by the work of Nobu Matsuhisa, who has the reputation of being the rock god of the sushi world. This is no surprise considering Shaun Pressland has worked under Nobu Matsuhisa in the past. Typical main menu prices at Sake are usually $31.
Additional restaurants will be announced as the event draws nearer. Celebrity chef Manu Feildel from L'etoile, will no doubt be making his presence felt yet again this year. Typically the suave chef spends most of his time chatting to the ladies and signing books rather than manning his post in the kitchen. So be warned, guests may be in for a bit of a wait to get served at the L'etoile pop-up restaurant. However it is all in the fun of the festival. There are fantastic people to meet in the line while you wait, accompanied by great music and entertainment in the background.
Highlights of this year's festival will include the Rekorderlig Cider Bar, which is notoriously the hub of the Taste of Sydney festival. The bar will be aiming to inspire the Swedish way of life, showcasing a range of Swedish cider flavours including apple, pear, wild berries, apple-blackcurrant, and the favourite zesty strawberry-lime. It is also the ultimate location to relax and absorb the live music and atmosphere at the festival. Sydney's top bartenders will also be demonstrating innovative ways of serving the different flavours on offer.
Sensology's 'The Art of Cocktail Making' classes are another fantastic experience at the festival. Expert mixologists from around Sydney will be demonstrating the brilliant art of cocktail making. Attending guests are fitted with aprons and are provided with all the tools of the trade. Bar kits are even offered at the conclusion of the classes at exclusive discounted prices. Best of all, guests will be able to consume their drinks at the conclusion of the class. The bar staff are also extremely lenient with the notoriously high number of guests who are heavy handed when constructing their concoctions. Classes are spread throughout the day at various intervals and cost $10. Each interval offers guests the opportunity to learn a different cocktail. Cocktails range from Mojitos all the way to Pina Coladas.
All guests attending the Taste of Sydney food festival are required to exchange their money for the local currency known as crowns. This exchange can occur at the various banks around the festival or can be pre-purchased from Ticketek in booklets of $30 or $50. In this particular case 1 dollar is equivalent to 1 crown. However it can feel like travelling to a foreign country where both currencies are at parity, yet the consumer price index is dramatically higher at your chosen travel destination. In other words, the price for sampling culinary delights at Taste of Sydney can feel inflated at times. Being forced to buy set amounts of crowns in values such as $30 and $50 also makes it more difficult. Don't be surprised if you have an odd amount of crowns left over at the end of the day, which is contributed to by the pricing variation of dishes at the various restaurants. This is something that should be refined for future festivals. Hopefully a system like this guarantees the highest level of cookery available in addition to the utilisation of the best available produce on offer.
Restaurant dishes are priced between 6 and 12 crowns. Servings are tapas sized, which in theory offers guests the opportunity to try everything on offer. However don't be fooled. Some of the dishes can be extremely filling, especially by the time you consume your third or fourth course. Keeping this in mind, you are better off to go for the dishes and restaurants that you want to try the most first. Taste of Sydney is not only about consuming food and wine. There are also a multitude of educational experiences on offer. Top chefs will be demonstrating innovative ways of preparing food at the Bertolli Taste Kitchen stage and Dilmah Chef's Skillery stage. Moreover, there will be wine tasting available the Wine Theatre. Also if you are feeling extremely generous you are able to purchase VIP tickets for $100 each. These include express entry to the event, access to the VIP Lounge, $30 worth of crowns and two complementary drinks. Although the best value for money would have to be the Premium Crown ticket which can be pre-purchased from Ticketek. This gives you general admission entry into the festival and includes $30 worth of crowns all for $50. This will actually save you $5 at the door.
The Taste of Sydney food festival is the must attend event this March for all the self proclaimed foodies out there. The festival starts Thursday March 14th with an afternoon session running from 5:30pm until 9:30pm. This session time also applies for Friday March 15th and Saturday March 16th. There will be additional lunch time sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday running from 12pm until 4pm, with the last session on Sunday March 17th finishing at 5pm. The event is guaranteed to be a fun day out and will be the perfect opportunity to celebrate the end of summer.
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