Morsels: Good Food Month to start; cakewiches; fried crickets; Wood and Coal opens

The Canberra Times Good Food Month starts. It's part of Australia's largest food festival, Good Food Month, which started in Sydney and has now expanded to Melbourne and Brisbane. The Canberra festival begins Wednesday, October 1, with a tapas and cocktail night at Parlour Wine Room, and includes more than 30 events throughout the month. See full program at canberra.goodfoodmonth.com.

Wood and Coal opens

The Merchant Deli and Restaurant opens at Kingston foreshore

Fried crickets for dinner?

Hospitality night at Lucky's
Have you ever had to try and describe Lucky's Speakeasy bar at QT Hotel in NewActon to a Canberran of a certain vintage? And then had them exclaim, "Oh, yes, I know what you mean, it's the old Bobby McGee's." Well those Canberrans will be pleased to hear that Lucky's is reviving an old tradition that used to be a staple at Bobby McGee's. Lucky's is hosting a hospitality industry night every Monday, the traditional night off for chefs, bartenders, waitstaff and all the other people who look after us at restaurants, hotels and bars around Canberra every weekend. It's called "HIP Night", which stands for Hospitality Industry Party. The idea is to eventually work towards a special membership for hospitality insiders. The launch party is on Monday, October 13. Entry is free.

Beware the Cakewich
What is the cakewich? It's possibly one of the more odd pseudo-novelty foods to be dreamt up by a corporate chain. In this case, the chain is Gloria Jean's, which has apparently conducted research showing that Australians love cake but don't eat enough of it. More than 10 per cent of people surveyed said they didn't remember the last time they had cake, which means conversely that nearly 90 per cent of people surveyed had had cake within living memory. But let's not quibble about statistics. The cakewich. It's a triangular piece of sponge cake, which purports to mimic a sandwich. According to GJ it's the "perfect snack for the 42 per cent of people who enjoy eating in their car". Well, let them eat cakewich.