You may have noticed food is BIG right now; figuratively and literally. Sky-high burgers and #Frankenshakes in mason jars topped with fruit and doughnuts all vie for likes and follows in our Instagram feeds. It looks like the worst excesses of the ol’ US of A have crept into our restaurants (and social media) – toxic, unsustainable, fast food waste. Don’t get me wrong there is a place for Dude Food – just not quite so much of it.
In a parallel universe, the Slow Food Movement out of Italy continues to grow, while chefs like Massimo Bottura urges chefs everywhere to lead the charge against food wastage. At the recent MAD symposium in Sydney, Chef Bottura said, “Contemporary cooking is not just about the quality of the ingredients it is about the quality of the ideas … the new tradition it not just about the aesthetic … it’s about the ethics”. Food waste is currently costing Australians up to $10 billion each year, while two million people still rely on food relief.
Then of course there is Good Food Month. This extravaganza of fine dining is once again partnering with the legendary Ronni Kahn and OzHarvest to stop food wastage while feeding the disadvantaged. At lunchtime on July 25, OzHarvest will feed a thousand members of the Brisbane public a free and delicious meal made from surplus produce that would have otherwise ended up as landfill.
Good Food Month is a celebration of food; good food. This year Brisbane will be treated to stints by a who’s who of celebrity chefs from Sydney, Melbourne and beyond rattling the pans in some of the city’s best restaurants.
One of TML’s favourite chefs *David Thompson, returns to Oz to bring the flavour of nahm (his number 37 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list 2016) to Brisbane. David is hosting a pop-up on July 19 and 20 at LONgTIME.
MoVida’s Frank Camorra will share the pass at Gerard’s Bistro on July 7, cooking some of his signature Spanish dishes. Richard Ousby will undoubtedly cook for the biggest dining room on July 22 on the Goodwill Bridge. Imagine taking in the Brisbane skyline from twilight and tucking into the Stokehouse Q team’s 3 course menu with matched wines.
Let’s Do Lunch brings back the long lunch with restaurants like Bucci, Customs House and Black Hide Steakhouse serving up lunch with a glass of Yalumba wine, Coopers beer or Thatchers cider for only $38. For the full list of Lets Do Lunch venues: http://brisbane.goodfoodmonth.com/letsdolunch
The perennial favourite – the Night Noodle Markets takes over South Bank for 12 nights from July 20. The River City’s best Asian restaurants will all be there serving dazzling dumplings and sizzling skewers and more. In a first for Brissy – look out for the most Instagrammed cake in the world – Black Star Pastry’s Strawberry Watermelon Cake. http://brisbane.goodfoodmonth.com/noodlemarkets
Not all the action centres around Brisbane with the Noosa Boathouse premiering their Floating Street-Food Market at Noosaville. Shane Bailey’s celebrated Asian-inspired street food, craft beer, chilled wines all on the Noosa River will make for a great afternoon.
Special Events include the Young Chef’s Dinner at Aria on July 13 when Queensland’s most promising and talented chefs will cook for some very lucky diners. Brisbane’s Otto will host the Editor’s Dinner on July 11 where the Good Food’s Callan Boys, Myffy Rigby are joined by Peter Gilmore, Lennox Hastie and John Fink to share tales of running top kitchens and editing the Guides.
For all the information on Good Food Month, sign up to the official newsletter at www.goodfoodmonth.com or visit www.facebook.com/goodfoodmonth
#JointheFeast – eat well and take lots of pics of all that good food.
