taste of sydney

I remember, back when I was about 10 or 11, sitting in our kitchen with a bunch of uncles and aunties. My mother would pull a freshly boiled chicken out of a pot and we would sit and shred the meat. First, my dad would cut it up. Then one of the aunties would pull the bones away. My sister and I would pull the meat into small pieces. Chicken, chicken, chicken. Into the big orange bowl.

This wasn't some horrible punishment. It was for the annual food fair. Every year, my sister and I would get ten dollars worth of tickets. Set loose for two, maybe three hours to buy what we pleased. Popiah, pai tee, satay with sticky cubes of rice, cendol and ice kacang. My parents, and their group, manned the laksa stall. Chicken, of course. I looked forward to it every year (and was halfway devastated when it got cancelled).

Needless to say, my initial reaction to the Taste of Sydney Festival was "Ohmygoodness! It's going to be just like the food fair! But BIG! And with chefs! And in a park! And..." then I realised that people were looking at me funny.

So I'll be there. And I'll probably be embarassingly excitable. I've created my checklist of things I want to do, and I've started saving my pennies so I can try as many things as possible. Such as:

1. Checking out the chef's table, where one is able to ask chefs about all things culinary. (I'll probably be too shy to ask anything, but will stare and grin til I get dragged away).

2. Honey sampling with the Beechworth crew. I hear there's apple blossom honey. I feel I shall end up being sticky.

3. Weave my way through to the front of the James Squire Masterclass. Because I am short. And I'm guessing the boys there will be tall. Also because I like beer.

4. Eat at as many of the restaurants as possible. Because at between $8-$15 per dish, this is the cheapest hatted experience I'm ever going to get.

ps) many thanks to Holly for the tix. If you're looking to win some, try entering a competition either at Fig & Cherry or at Not Quite Nigella.