There were quite a few changes made to the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show this year.  There were less of the more mainstream commercial producers and more boutique wares on offer.  The aisles between stalls were also made wider.  Combine this with the fact that we went on Sunday (we’ve been on Saturday for the previous two shows), and it was considerably less stressful and crowded- meaning the whole experience was much more enjoyable.

We had a pleasant Sunday afternoon wandering the halls of the exhibition centre sampling foods, wines, snacks, sauces … many of enough sustenance to keep us going.  Then came the celebrity chef demonstration, for which Amanda had fantastically managed to land us front row seats.

This year we saw Matt Moran of Sydney’s own Aria.  He was very entertaining, and the audience participation was particularly enjoyable.  Why shouldn’t kids be given knives and wine as prizes?

Of course, one of the highlights of the event is the shows bags – packed full of goodies to try and of ridiculous value.  But Sunday doesn’t just mean few crowds – it also means everyone is trying to clear out all of their bags.  If you think $8 for a bag is a bargain, then $2 certainly is.  And it was a joy to watch other people’s expressions as they too turned up to collect their gourmet food from The Providores Food & Liquor only to be told that it was now buy one get one free.  My arms are STILL sore from getting this fantastic haul home.  There are smoked trouts, fresh pasta, fresh sausages, pies, oils, vinegars, coffees, and let’s not forget the Dilmah tea stand where for $10 we came home with 220 tea bags of assorted varieties.

Those eagle eyed Scots among you may have noticed what is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our cache – Tunnocks.  Turns out there is a store in Sydney that sells all manner of British treats and thanks to them we had our first snowball in nearly three years last night.  Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!