World Chef Showcase at SCEC

For the month of October some of the best chefs from around the globe visited the sunny harbour of Sydney for the annual Crave International Food Festival. This year there was an emphasis on Italian cuisine, with Massimo Bottura, one of the highest ranking chefs in Italy, on top of the all-star line-up.

To begin the festival, the World Chef Showcase was held at Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. The ultimate food-lovers’ weekend brought together some of the finest culinary talents for a weekend of presentations, cooking demonstrations, talks and tastings.  Over 2,500 dishes were served over the weekend.

Although I wasn’t able to make it, as the culinary ambassador for the Centre, it was wonderful to see them given the opportunity to hold this high profile event.

Some highlights included talks and cooking presentations by Massimo Bottura, Antonio Carluccio and Darren Purchese from Burch&Purchese Sweet Studio in Melbourne.

Find out what else is on for Crave International Food Festival at www.cravesydney.com.

Crave at SCEC this weekend

Crave Sydney International Food Festival run by The Sydney Morning Herald is here again!  This year their signature event, World Chef Showcase, will be held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.  A perfect location for such an event with its easy accessibility to all forms of transport and the professional team from The Centre working behind the scenes.

Festival Director Joanna Savill, an old friend,  has again done a great  job with her team.  The month of foodie fun includes signature events such as Night Noodle Markets, Showcase Dinners and cooking classes as well as Shoot the Chef photography exhibition and competition.

My friends at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre are hosting the World Chef Showcase this weekend – Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 October.  Dubbed ‘the ultimate food-lovers’ weekend’, hand-picked domestic and international culinary talent come will together for a series of presentations, demonstrations and tastings.  Best of all it brings to town writers like Ruth Reichl , along with local luminaries in Talks and Thoughts, a new feature in the Showcase.

Internationals include food writer and cookbook queen Tessa Kiros, restaurant reviewer  Nick Lander, and Christina Tosi from Momofuku Milk Bar. Locally, our Italian chefs star along with some personal favourites:

Mark Best from Marque presenting in the Thoroughly Modern Masters section. I’ve eaten in Mark’s three hat restaurant Marque, in Sydney’s Surry Hills, many  times and love everything from his quiet determination to his impressive and innovative yet grounded food.  

Colin Fassnidge from The Four in Hand and 4Fourteen is joining The Luck of the Irish section.  Following my Irish odyssey also known as television series, Lyndey Milan’s Taste of Ireland (soon to be screened), I share an affinity with Colin’s Irish roots and food.  I recently enjoyed a leisurely lunch at his newish 4Fourteen in Surry Hills.  From the stuffed pig tail to the Irish breakfast and mixed grain salad – all sublime.  As it says on the Crave website ‘stand by to go the whole hog’!

On the sweet side, you can’t go past  Darren Purchese, one of our most original, exciting and talented pastry chefs. The sweets, desserts and cakes that he creates at his bespoke Melbourne studio are works of edible art.

The details
09:30am-5:00pm Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 October
Parkside level 1, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour
Click here for more information