It was my husband and I’s first time to attend this awesome event and we’re so glad we shared this experience with my mom.  For weeks, I’ve been so excited to attend this show at the Sydney Convention Centre and it didn’t disappoint at all.  Not only were we able to discover and taste culinary delectables, we were also able to watch two celebrity chefs in action.

We arrived at the venue at a quarter to 10 on Sunday morning.  We were the first ones to enter the venue and we got on to exploring right away.  The Husband bought a Good Food and Wine Show Granny Trolley, his way of gearing up for the shopping that awaits us (how cute!!!), and a Wine Glass with Wine Glass Holder (a pink one especially for me!) so I’m all geared up for all the wine tasting ahead.  How thoughtful, right?

I love the clever concept of the The Wine Glass Holder because it keeps your wine glass insulated and has a strap so you can wear it around your neck for easy mobility.  It also helps you avoid losing your glass.

What’s in the Good Food and Wine Show?  Other than an opportunity to taste food and wine, you also get to discover appliances and knick-knacks related to cooking, plus there are stalls for magazine subscriptions, all for discounted prices and lots of give-aways.

On the first hour of the morning, we were able to walk around and took photos of the place conveniently but after lunch, there was very little space to move and the hall looked like this…jampacked!

Nevertheless, it was still fun.  The event organizers provided a Show Planner and Map to help people maximize their stay and in getting their way around the place.

The best experience of the day was having to watch celebrity chefs and Masterchef (Australian Reality Cooking Show for Amateur Chefs) hosts & judges Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.

I am a fan of Gary Mehigan.  I’ve seen him once when I was at the Vivid Sydney at the Rocks just a few weeks back and I was happy to see him in person.  To watch him on a show and do what he does best was such a great pleasure. 

The show we watched at the Celebrity Theatre was entitled “Your Place or Mine” which is a 45-minute cooking show by Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.  I’m not much of a fan of George but he is a great chef as well and I like him too.

Together, Gary and George make a very entertaining team.  Not only did we learn a few recipes and cooking tricks from them, they made the show really fun–they made us laugh and dance.  As judges in the Masterchef show, they sometimes appear strict but on-stage, they are really approachable, funny guys.

The Celebrity Theatre had a big TV screen on stage so everyone can see what Gary and George are doing while they cooked and for close-up views of the food.

I remember they made pasta then turned them into tortellinis.  Another dish they made was baked prawns on a bed of Hommus.  They baked bread too.  And they made this dish that has beetroot as a main ingredient but I forgot what it was called.

After the show, George went straight to the Good Food Magazine stall and made a cooking demonstration again.  I didn’t watch this time as I wanted to get on with my shopping and going around.

We had lunch somewhere else as we had to meet up with friends.  We went back in and went straight to the Nespresso stall to watch a demonstration of the Nespresso machine and for free coffee.  Chris wanted me to see how the machine works. 

Years ago, we planned to buy this machine for our home but I’ve been delaying it.  Chris already got me Nespresso cups and saucers but I said, “let’s wait awhile before we buy the machine”.  However, after attending this show, we finally decided on what Nespresso to buy in the future.  Now we are just waiting for the right time to buy it.

After coffee, we went around for a taste of more food.  The last order of the day was to buy wine.  We went to a several wine tasting, boy did I have so much fun.  Other than the taste of the wine, we wanted a good deal from sellers because we were buying in bulk.  We discovered Beelgara wines and bought two bags of wines from them.  Since we bought wines in bulk, they gave us two wine bags.  The wine bags are insulated to keep wine cool.

We went home with all of these from the show….

Two of these food magazines were free while the other two came from the two grocery bags we bought.

We bought two grocery bags for only AUD$15. The products inside those two bags where fixed and the total value of both bags were AUD$189.  Since you are buying it from the Good Food and Wine Show, it was only AUD$15.  Such big savings! 

What we paid AUD$15 for— From Left to right (from top row): bag of caster sugar, small bottle of olive oil, small packs of condiments and spices; 2 jars of pasta sauce, cans of tuna, a jar of chicken soup; packets of chips, biscuits, peanuts and dried cranberries; samples of coffee and tea; bottled green teas; dog and cat food; small tube of whitening toothpaste, smales tubes of suntan lotion and Nivea facial wash and Blistex lipgloss; cleaning products and wet ones.

It was a long but fun day.  We learned a lot from the celebrity chefs plus we get to bring home lot sof goodies, some free and some bought at discounted price.

I look forward to attending next year’s show.

Some Tips:

1.  Book your tickets early.  The earlier you book, the better seats you will get on the Celebrity Theatre Shows and more freebies.  The later you book, you might not have a chance to watch a celebrity chef cooking demo.

2.  Be early to avoid crowds and get more freebies.  In the afternoons, most freebies are gone and there are long queues for free wine/coffee/food tastings.

3.  Bring a granny trolley or your own grocery bags if you plan to buy lots of stuff.  You can also buy the Good Food & Wine Show granny trolley bag.  It’s good quality bag and can serve as a souvenir from the event.

4.  The event’s Show Planner and Map is your best companion.  Get it from the information booth as soon as you arrive.  It lists the schedule of cooking demonstrations, exhibitors and their corresponding stall number.

5.  Be prepared.  Check out the Good Food and Wine Show website so you know what to look forward to.

6.  Have some cash with you.  Some exhibitors don’t have and EFTPOS/Credit Card system so having cash with you will surely make your shopping more convenient.  There are ATMs in the convention center but since there are a lot of people, there is also a long wait to withdraw money.

7.  Bring your own or buy your own wine glass.  Most wine exhibitors don’t have wine glasses for wine tasting.  Having your own wine glass is a must if you will attend this show.
 
8.  Be discreet in taking photographs.  Not all exhibitors like people taking photographs of their products.  If they ask you to delete the photos you took of their store or products, delete them.  It’s their loss anyway.