Foodies’ Diary

Artful Food 1
Living in the inner west, I sometimes avoid the city’s plentiful restaurants in favour of a quick (motorised) getaway – sadly parking can be the decider. But when it comes to shows, the Sydney Opera House is unmatched as a venue and their Director of Contemporary Culture Virginia Hyam knows how to put together an enticing programme. So next time you’re booking a show, take a look at the new Show Plus packages, which combine a two-course pre-theatre dinner at restaurants like Aria, Bilson’s Number One, Wildfire and East Restaurant with interval drinks and parking. It’s a two tiered pricing system ($78/ Silver, $98/ Gold) dependent upon which restaurant you choose, so why not try out some top end venues at a (safely) fixed price? Aria is offering a tempting Kurobuta sweet pork belly with pork croquette, paradise pears and pear chutney, but if you need more food for thought, menus are online at www.sydneyoperahouse.com.

Artful Food 2
In a temptingly edible piece of theatre, the Sugar Spun Fairy wiggled coquettishly while Australian gastronomic legends Tony Bilson (Bilson’s), Cheong Liew (formerly The Grange, Adelaide) and Tetsuya Wakuda (Tetsuya’s) used hammers to denude her of her sweet attire. The sugary spoils were met with enthusiasm from foodie notables like John Newton, Lyndey Milan and this humble scribe, at the launch of Cuisine Now last week. I’m already itching to attend a bunch of events in the two week festival which starts on the 11th January, 2010, running concurrently with the Sydney Festival. Events include the Australian chefs mentioned above, and some notable international stars like Nicolas le Bec (Lyon) matched up with stars of opera and cabaret like Australia’s Paul Capsis and French chanteuse Caroline Nin. Those living in the inner west will be well placed to attend with many events hosted at the brand new green-star Doltone House! Tickets go on sale on the 28th November, 2009 at www.cuisinenow.com.au.

Tarting Up Xmas
If you’re a deft hand at tarting up Christmas leftovers, FoodWise have rebranded Boxing Day as National Leftovers Day, to help raise awareness about the environmental and financial costs of food wastage. They’re running a competition on their website www.foodwise.com.au until the 15th December. To be in the running to win a $2000 Tupperware makeover all you need to do is give away your best method for using up tasty Christmas leftovers. They have already received a bunch of great suggestions, including this corker from Amy Miller: “We take all left over fruit & nuts and any Christmas cake, mix it in with some vanilla ice cream and make a whole new Boxing Day ice cream cake.” Now that sounds both tasty and clever!