SYDNEY FOOD & WINE SHOW 2010

A few weeks ago I attended the Sydney Food & Wine show. As food is one of my big passions in life I was over excited about going, until the day before I had a chat with my ever loving husband who broke the news to me that his commitments on that day would be that he would be able to have all the children except the youngest:( Now I love my son enormously but the prospect of taking on crowds with my Pegperego pram that has a wonky front wheel was not making my feel as excited! Alas, the show must go on and I went on with my son, the wonky pram, and my mum!

When we arrived the crowd was overwhelming. The doors had only been open for about an hour but the place was buzzing with people licking lips and fingers. There were people everywhere! My first stop was the Leggos stand. I saw two big lines at computers and wondered what was going on. For signing up to their fan base/marketing panel you got a free bag of goodies. What i liked most and I am not sure how many other people were listening, but the chef who was explaining how to sharpen a knife. I found it very edumacational! No, I really did, but I was worried most of the liner upperers were only interested in their little bag of goodies.

Next we did our very best to plan out how we were going to take on the hall. It was very big and their was lots to see, taste, and do. The stalls that I liked most were:

Always Fresh - heaps of taste testing and if you signed up to their market research panel you got a free "Antipasto to Go" pot.

Forever Knives - now if you ever want a good knife, these are the people I recommend. There knives were totally amazing. Super light and so easy to cut, my mum purchased one and she just loves it. The discounts at the show were at least 50% off, which I really should have taken advantage of.

Riverland Meat - this was top notch salami and sausages of the kind. The ladies were run off their feet with keen sydney siders purchasing big on what they had to offer. My kids love salami and so I purchased their plain salami sticks and they loved them!

ChopChop! Chicken - I have seen this in the supermarkets before and I purchased it straight away, mainly due to my knowledge of food storage. I have heard many a thing about canned chicken before but never thought it would hit our shores! Now it is here and I love it! Its just the same principle as canned tuna. I know a lot of people were turned off by it, but I also think an equal, if not more, amount were pleasanty surprised by how well it tastes.

Abe's Real Bagels - I have seen these in the shops but never purchased. They had an amzing deal of purchasing 5 bags of bagel chips for $5, barganista in me took over and I (and my kids) were very happy with them.

Vitamix - no I am totally convinced of the greatness of the Thermomix, but if are still bummed out by the price of one, take a look at what the Vitamix has to offer for a much lower price. I was pleasantly surprised, however I am still not sure which one I will purchase.

These are just some of the amazing stalls I went to. My day was cut a little short because my little man woke up from his hour long sleep with a high temp so I had to get him off to the doctors! It was a good day all in all and I look forward to next years, and fingers crossed I don't have to take one of the kids!!!