Julia Child, one of the first TV Chefs, famously declared “people who love to eat are always the best people”. She also said: “the only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook”.
So she clearly knows what she's on about. If you love to eat, apart from being one of the best kind of people, you will be thrilled to hear Good Food Month returns to Brisbane starting today, 9 July. The month-long procession of gustatory delights will this year feature more than 200 events with something to cater for every palette.
Live Your Noodle Dreams
From 22 July to 2 August, Southbank's Cultural Forecourt will be transformed once again into a noodle-lovers paradise. If you visited the Night Noodle Markets during 2014's Good Food Month, you've probably already stopped reading this to message your mates and sort out some dinner dates.For those of you who didn't go last year, what you missed was a celebration of the open-air hawker markets famous throughout Asia. Inaugurated with a blessing from a trio of Buddhist monks, the markets were filled from start to finish with lanterns, lights, colours and happy, noodle-stuffed faces.
On offer were a variety of traditional dishes from Chinese Yum-Cha to Vietnamese Pho and handmade Japanese Gyoza. Last year's marketeers welcomed over 167,000 patrons into their frenetic, warm and cheerful little world and they are ready to serve up an even more delectable experience for 2015.
This year, the markets will be cashless, with the simplicity of debit and credit cards allowing for quicker transactions. They'll also be opening for lunch on the weekends and staying open to dinner. So if the noodle-mood hits, you can have an afternoon feast in the park.
Cocktails And The Bar Snacks That Love Them
Some of the cleverest cocktail-crafters at Brisbane's best bars were challenged to create a Tanqueray Gin cocktail and complementary bar snack as part of this year's festivities.If the words, 'bar snack', have conjured up images of dank beer nuts and stale potato chips, you can relax. The 21 bars to accept the challenge have seriously outdone themselves with the tasty morsels they've concocted.
There's soft-shell crab sliders at the Riverbar in the City, Peking duck pancakes at Southbank's Soliel Pool Bar, and a white chocolate and raspberry slice at Kerbside in Fortitude Valley.
And the cocktails come complete with clever names and hitherto unheard of combinations. 'Winter Is Coming' at the Canvas Club in Woolloongabba combines Tanqueray Gin, citrus, chamomile and lemongrass with a chilli salt rim. While The Treehouse in Fortitude Valley claims you'll get a 'Healthy Hangover' with their mix of Tanqueray gin, homemade grapefruit cordial and native finger lime.
High Tea: Because Cake
If you love all things vintage (or anything involving cake), Good Food Month is bursting with opportunities to attend a high tea. Each location has a unique theme and treats to match and all are serving on multiple days, so you have the chance to check out each and every one if your heart desires.Pretty & Pink offer a high tea overlooking the river with a combination of sweet and savoury delicacies and French champagne to accompany the French tea. For an immersive Parisian experience, C'est Bon French Restaurant in Woolloongabba will be serving up croissants, crepes, crème brulee, brioche and more. All accompanied by tea and French champagne.
KG Bar in King George Square has gone for a rustic yet indulgent experience, with a new twist on Aussie afternoon-tea classics like lamingtons and brownies.
Meanwhile, Sofitel Brisbane has taken the term 'high tea' quite literally, hosting theirs on the hotel's 30th floor. They promise to greet you with a Kir Royale and treat you to a 'magnifique' array of sweet and savoury delights.
Brisbane From Above
See your city from a different angle at the Rooftop and Skyline events. The setting for each one is self-explanatory, but the locations and themes are wild and varied.The Fox Hotel in South Brisbane invites you to go 'down the rabbit-hole' 18 July for their adults-only tea party. They promise gin-spiked ice tea, red-velvet cupcakes and an evening fit to 'make Alice in Wonderland jealous'. For a more blokey event, The Loft Hotel in the City is having an arvo barbie 2 August, serving quirky treats like beer-battered barra and Jack Daniels BBQ ribs.
Constance in the Valley is going all out with a three-week adventure through European cuisine. Italian, Spanish and French foods will be explored, all while you watch the sun set over the city. Lennon's Pool Terrace & Bar on Queen Street is also hosting a slew of events with Latino-themed sunset pool parties happening throughout July and August.
Pop-Up Parties & Outdoor Adventures
Test out the theory that food tastes better outside with the many open-air events on offer during Good Food Month.The Fig Tree Farmer's markets will be held 15 July with produce direct from the growers, street food from all over the world, and a free movie for the kids. On 11 July, Eagle Street Pier will be taken over by a pop-up party with the precinct's finest restaurants teaming to deliver a five-course meal under the stars.
If getting outdoors isn't enough and you want to get out of the heart of the city, there will be a series of creek lunches held at mystery locations throughout July and August. Only locally sourced, sustainable produce is used and you will be treated to wines carefully selected to match your meal.
For those who don't mind taking a trip north, Hervey Bay will be hosting a special pop-up event 25 July at the iconic Scarness Pier with food stations offering a variety of canapes and cocktails.
Good Food = Ethical Food
Those interested in the ethics of what we eat will have a variety of events and workshops to sink their teeth into.OzHarvest will be unveiling their 'Mystery Box' – 13 and 20 July – with one of Brisbane's top executive chefs. Rescued surplus food forms the foundation for this workshop, but just what you'll be learning to do is a tightly kept secret. The only way you'll find out is by attending one of the evenings.
Then on 27 July, OzHarvest is teaming with the United Nations Environment Program to offer a free, vegetarian lunch. They'll be catering up to 1,000 people and, once again, using rescued food. Their goal with these events is to raise awareness about food wastage and provide practical, usable information for you to cut down on waste and make the most of available food resources.
If you're simply after an organic feed, Lost Boys in the Valley will be offering tapas-style dinners during Good Food Month. All of their dishes are packed with organic, vegetarian and carbon-neutral ingredients.
For more information on any of these events and details of the dozens of other offerings, visit the Good Food Month website.
