Regional food stars at Sydney Good Food & Wine Show

For the third year running I’ve been asked to host the Lyndey Milan Regional Producers’ Market at the Sydney Good Food & Wine Show.

Here is a list of the fabulous artisan and boutique producers exhibiting in Sydney:

Otway Estate Winery & Brewery is near Colac, two hours from Melbourne. They produce wine, beer, cider and cordials from natural local products – grapes, local fruit and berries and pure Otway rainwater. On site there is a restaurant/café with lots of space for big events such as weddings, concerts and Oktoberfest, a cellar door that stocks regional and home-made produce as well as a few self-contained cottages that can be rented. The winemaker Matthew DiScascio produces premium wines including a range of sparkling wines available exclusively at the cellar door. Head Brewer Luke Scott is responsible for the medal winning Prickly Moses beers, ales and stouts. Finally, the organic cider is made from locally grown Gellibrand apples.

Beechworth Honey has been operating since the 1880s and is a fourth generation family business with a strong ethical and community focus. The product range includes honey (including blackbox, blackberry, blue gum, clover, orange blossom and hill gum), beauty products (lotions, balms and soaps), gourmet items (sparkling honey, creamy honey and lollies) and candles.

Located in the Barossa Valley, Careme Pastry is owned and operated by William and Claire Wood, who, coming from a restaurant background we were always disappointed with the quality of commercially available ready-made pastry. Careme only use natural ingredients, free from additives, preservatives and colours to produce their hand-crafted pastry products. Their product range includes ready to use pastry dough: all butter puff, sour cream shortcrust, vanilla bean sweet shortcrust and dark chocolate shortcrust as well as a range of tarts, pies, savoury galettes and sweet tarts and croissants and pastries.

Bellissimo Coffee is located in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. They are a new boutique coffee roaster that use the highest quality coffees that are organic, satisfy fair trade arrangements and are rainforest friendly. As a first time exhibitor, Bellissimo won a Gold Medal and Class Champion (overall winner) Espresso at 2010 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show awards for their premium blend Bellissimo Emporio. They were also the first Queensland company to win a Gold Medal for the Espresso Class and to be awarded Class Champion status. Their range includes: Blends – Emporio, Optimo, Italian dark roast, Aspromonte and Mocha Java as well as decaffeinated and single origin coffee. As well as coffee, they also sell a section of tea, chocolate, nut and other gourmet products and commercial and home coffee machines. Other services include servicing coffee machines and grinders as well as barista training.

Yumm from Sydney make dressings from natural ingredients with no artificial preservatives, colours or flavours. Each bottle is hand-made and many ingredients are sourced from local producers and farmers markets. The product range includes Very Original (blend of olive and sesame oils, fresh garlic and honey), Poppy Splash (red wine and raspberry vinegars, Spanish onion and poppy seeds), Balsamic Drizzle, So Provincial (apple cider vinegar, honey and tarragon), Maple Zest (orange juice and maple syrup). They are available online and from various gourmet food stores and farmers’ markets.

Hunter Valley based Tintilla Estate is a family run vineyard near Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley producing wines that represent the balance between land, climate and the vines. The range includes sparkling, semillon, chardonnay, merlot, shiraz, sangiovese, cabernet merlot and pinot noir. They also produce a range of olive (preserved, tapenade and oils), verjus and vinegars.

Cookie Couture commenced business in Sydney in 2006 with handcrafted pink, heart-shaped gingerbreads, made by founder Nadine Ingram for her favourite neighbourhood café. Natalie now supplies gingerbread cookies for baby showers, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, corporate events, and other special occasions. She uses only natural ingredients to create a soft, spiced gingerbread that is balanced with the delicate crunch of beautifully applied icing. The range has expanded to include rustic cookies, brownies, macaroons as well as a seasonal range. They are available from gourmet food stores and cafes in Sydney as well as special orders direct.

River Roast was created in 2008 by Edwardo Milan (no relation!) with a mission is to provide exceptional coffee, service and training to cafes, restaurants and other coffee establishments. Edwardo sells a few different blends – Barrington, Hunter and Decaf as well as a few fair trade organic coffees – East Timor Maubisse, Ethiopian Harrar and Guatemalan. River Roast is available online and at various cafes and gourmet food stores in the Newcastle area. They also offer service of coffee machines, training, naked branding and custom blending.

Owner and head pastry chef Frank Gulisano’s Sydney based Dolcettini creates unique quality desserts with exquisite taste, texture and finish. They specialise in creating quality Italian and French inspired desserts made from the finest, freshest ingredients such as free range eggs, creamy butter and Callebaut chocolate. All products are created and prepared by hand using traditional French and Italian pastry methods combined with contemporary ideas. Product range includes croquembouche, individual desserts (eg cheesecakes, mousse cakes and choux pastry), petit fours, speciality cakes, pastries and biscotti.

Game Farm is located in Galston on the northern outskirts of Sydney. Since being founded in 1975 Game Farm has grown to the largest multi species game bird producer in the southern hemisphere. Products include game birds (quail, poussin, duck, chicken, guinea fowl, pheasant, turkey, squab, emu and ostrich), game meats (venison, kangaroo, crocodile, rabbit, wild boar, camel and alpaca as well as other products such as premium lamb, beef and wagyu beef. The products are distributed to restaurants, five star hotels, supermarkets, specialty butchers, airlines, shipping companies and caterers, both in Australia and internationally. Game Farm is committed to investing in state of the art breeding, hatching, growing and processing facilities.

Vitek Vodka is the brainchild of Polish born Vitek who grew up watching his father distilling and infusing vodka. By using traditional infusion methods with regional Australian ingredients, Vitek creates a range of fresh produce vodkas that are 25% alcohol. They are designed to be enjoyed for their flavour – drunk with food much like wine and are best served from the freezer. They are available from various bottle shops around Sydney and online.

Cattleman’s Reserve is located in Dungowan (near Tamworth). Wagyu cattle joined existing Angus stock on the Cattleman’s Reserve property following the first taste of Wagyu by the owners in 2006 at the Wagyu Conference. At this conference they learned that the best Australian grown wagyu was sent overseas and Australians were left with the cuts other countries didn’t want. It became a goal of Cattleman’s Reserve to keep every cut for Australia customers. The entire production – from gate to plate – is controlled. No hormone growth promoters are used and the beef is naturally grown free-range. Small family packs (12.5kg) and large family packs (49kg) as well as barbeque packs can be purchased direct from Cattleman’s Reserve who deliver direct from the farm to various parts on NSW on a monthly rotation cycle.

Lime Grove from Narromine, near Dubbo is a haven of 10,000 lime trees, grown without chemicals. There is a café onsite that is open 7 days a week. The Lime Grove product range includes: Lime Grove Lime Infused Oil, Lime Grove Lime Juice Cordial, Lime Grove Lime Juice Cordial, Lime Grove Lime & Chilli Seeded Mustard, Lime Grove Lime Zest Honey, Lime Grove Lime Juice Dressing, Lime Grove Lime Asian Marinade and Lime Grove Lime Olives in Brine. The products are available online as well as at the onsite café.

Robin’s Foods is located in Altona, Victoria and was formed by recognised pioneers of the native food industry, Ian and Juleigh Robins, in 1997. The range of products are branded Outback Spirit and the vision is to bring indigenous foods to the mainstream market locally and internationally. The product range includes chutneys, preserves, dry marinades, seasoning salts, seasoning sprinklers, sauces, dressings, crushed garlic, herbs and rejuvenating water and are available from major and independent supermarkets nationally as well as Oxfam Fair Trade stores.

Yarra Valley Salmon has been farming salmon in the Yarra Valley Ranges since 1992. Clean, cold oxygen-rich water from the Victorian Alps flows through to the ponds where the salmon live. The salmon is reared naturally without antibiotics or chemicals and hand milked to provide plump flawless eggs bursting with flavour. The product range includes:
Caviar – the salmon are given a natural anaesthetic, gently hand milked and returned to the water while. The eggs are drained and packed immediately with no preservatives or additives. Sold fresh in jars (have a shelf life of 10 weeks).
Salmon – antibiotic and chemical free and live in ponds fed by waterfalls which create a strong current, producing a lean fish with superior body tone and significantly lower fat content. Sold fresh, smoked and poached. as whole fish and fillets and poached whole fish.

The Really Stuffed Olive Company is from the Central Coast of NSW. They have been providing gourmet foods made from quality ingredients since 1993. As well as their namesake, stuffed olives, the range also includes vinegars, dukkahs, sauces, wine salts and tablewear.

See you there. I'll have a knife!