Taste of Sydney 2013: Food Festival, Centennial Park (17 Mar 2013)

Brazilian Fields, Centennial Park, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.tasteofsydney.com.au

Pigging out in the park

Thanks to Jess Brennan from Horizon Communication Group for inviting me to the Taste of Sydney to check out Peter Kuruvita's Dilmah Chef's Skillery talk. With my 15 month old daughter on hand I had to take things a lot slower this year. Usually I'd race around checking out all the restaurants, chefs and dishes but this time around I just focussed on strolling around (with pram) and made sure baby was happy and entertained. I did manage to visit Efendy which kindly let me try their Deboned roasted Sheep Head with local Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes Tandir which was definitely a mind over matter dish. It had nice flavours once you got over the fact you were eating brain, cheek and tongue. I even gave a bit of brain to my unsuspecting daughter and she actually seemed to enjoy it to my horror. I was told in Turkey brain was quite commonly fed to babies and is supposed to be good for them although I'm still not sure about that. 

Back at the Dilmah Chef's Skillery talk Chef Peter Kuruvita was in his element talking to a large crowd of fans with Chef Martin Dulke. The decision to take the crowd over to his BBQ for a cooking demonstration was a bold move although way too crowded for me to get close enough to hear what he was cooking. After the talk Peter provided me a sample of his two dishes. BBQ Prawn Skewers had good flavour with decent sized prawns and his BBQ Petuna Ocean Trout had a nice flavour combination and perfectly cooked fish that won me over. Amongst the free tastings on offer the Real Coconut Water really impressed me and was probably the best tasting packaged coconut water I've had to date — I'll certainly look out for this one in the shops if available.

Other visits to Taste of Sydney: 
2013 / 2012 / 2011 / 2010

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: A taste of some of Sydney's hatted restaurants, Opportunity to see the chefs in person, Free taste samplings to be found, Free parking

CONS: Weather dependent, Entry fee, Time limit per session, Can get expensive depending how many dishes you want to try

MUST TRY: Finding where they sell Real Coconut Water

VERDICT: If you're lucky with nice weather the event can be an enjoyable experience for those who love trying many dishes from different restaurants in one place.

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Peter Kuruvita's Seafood BBQ: Chef plating of BBQ Petuna Ocean Trout and Tangy Mexican Street Salad with Citrus Jalapeno Dressing — nice combination of flavours and perfectly cooked fish

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Peter Kuruvita's Seafood BBQ: Chef plating of BBQ Prawn Skewers with Black Pepper, Curry Leaf Sauce and Sri Lankan Pickle — nice flavour and decent sized prawns

WORTH TRYING :-)

Efendy: Deboned roasted Sheep Head with local Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes Tandir — nice flavour although a mind over matter dish to eat when you know it's brain, cheek and tongue

Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water — enjoyable flavour that's sweet and refreshing with minimal after taste
WORTH TRYING :-)

Peter Kuruvita's Seafood BBQ team

Chef Martin Dulke and Chef Peter Kuruvita at Dilmah Chef's Skillery

Peter's prawn skewers were very popular

Masterchef 2012 contestants Julia Taylor and Mindy Woods

Masterchef Professionals contestants 2013 Tracey Holderness and Akuc Isaac Chol

OzHarvest promoting their cookbook

All real smiles at Real Food Projects

Ben Taouss (left) from Assembly Bar promoting Absinthe Pernod

Nice refreshing drink — I like but can't remember what's in it

Bertolli Taste Kitchen with Chef Somer Sivrioglu from Efendy 

Nice spot to chillax

Four in Hand come good for the carnivores

Tasmania pavilion got too crowded for me to stay and try anything

Miele VIP lounge area — nice spot to take a break from the crowds and heat although you pay for the privilege

RSPCA NSW

Morish Nuts a popular stand

Artisse Organic

Tanqueray bar staff know how to have fun in the sun

Time Out bar with live music

Cointreau Fizz bar on fire

Google+ in bed with ZAGAT

Chui Lee Luk from Claude's at Dilmah Chef's Skillery

Home bound with tummies hopefully filled with tasty dishes

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