It’s been a while since wine connoisseurs, food adventurers, and those with a nose for spirits have had a chance to come together for Australia’s biggest exhibition – the Good Food & Wine Show. But, once again, they’re celebrating together, and this last weekend, it was Brisbane’s turn.
Twenty-one years ago, the very first Good Food & Wine Show opened in Melbourne. Since then, the food and wine fest expanded to Sydney, then Brisbane and Perth. The Good Food & Wine Show has also been the place to see some of the finest chefs and celebrity cooks share their tips and tricks in kitchen demos. Over the years, big names like the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver, the late, great Antonio Carluccio and enfant terrible Gordon Ramsay have graced the GFWS kitchen stage along with own Kylie Kwong, Jill Dupleix, Matt Moran, Matt Golinski and many more.
2022’s celeb lineup in the kitchen included Matt Moran, Miguel Maestre, Silvia Colloca, Justine Schofield, Annaliese Gregory, Brendan Pang, and Sammy Jakubiak. TML had a quick catch-up with Silvia at the show:
Silvia Colloca
TML: Please tell us about meeting the people at the Good Food & Wine Show who watch your television shows and buy your cookbooks. How do people react?
Silvia: Meeting people at the GFWS is my absolute favourite aspect of doing the live cooking shows. There are always conversations about recipes and exchanging tips and stories, and it really makes my day!
TML: What still surprises you about the ingredients and products in your adopted country? Anything you’re particularly loving at the moment?
Silvia: Australia is blessed with the most abundant fruit bowl and produce! I adore grocery shopping at my local shops and seeing what’s in season and what’s in the “ugly bucket”, always great produce that doesn’t subscribe to beauty standards, and it is so much cheaper!
Very excited about the mango season right now!
TML: How do the lessons you learned from your mother and Nonna still apply to your cooking today?
Silvia: I have their voices in my head each time I cook or shop “keep it simple”, “keep it seasonal” “cook with love”.
For more of Silvia’s kitchen wisdom, you can visit her site dedicated to Italian home cooking at Silvia’s Cucina.
Good Food & Wine Show Brisbane 2022
Alongside the demos in the kitchen, this year’s Good Food & Wine Show saw a bumper crop of wineries from the Barossa, McLaren Vale, the Margaret River and the Granite Belt and Southern Queensland Country.
Gin is still in, with small-batch distillers pouring nips and the big names putting on a show. The new Gin Lovers ticket was in high demand with a gin and tonic pairing masterclass, a Fever-Tree goodie bag and a bottle of Lyres London Dry.
Great to see show-goers lining up to taste the offerings of the smaller and more diverse food artisans and producers. Pechey Distillery, Eden Orchard’s Cherry Juice, Rodriguez Bros, The Sunshine Coast’s Hum Honey and Pure Gold Pineapples all had the crowds coming back for more.
We especially loved Lockyer Valley’s Native Oz Bush Foods. Proudly Aboriginal-owned and operate, they turn out a delectable range of Bush Blend herbs as well as spices, jams and relishes with no fillers – just fresh bushtucker fruits, vegetables and herbs. Their Gourmet Salt range is made with premium Murray River Salt.
Already looking forward to Good Food & Wine Show 2023? We’ll let you know the details soon.
