Brisbane Times Good Food Month 2015: festival director's picks

Get out your diaries and start planning. Good Food Month, presented by Citi, starts today, July 9, with 30 days jam-packed with events for every food lover, no matter what the interest or budget. Here are some highlights from the festival's creative director Natascha Mirosch.

Chef-spotters

Mark Best's Marque at Esquire dinner is sold out, as is our Young Chefs' dinner, but there's still the possibility to see some of our home-grown superstars.

Ben Shewry (Attica, Melbourne), James Viles (Biota Dining, NSW) and Josh Lopez (GOMA, Brisbane) who was recently named the Brisbane Times Good Food Guide 2016 Chef of the Year, will be in conversation with ABC radio presenter Tim Cox at GOMA. Post talk Viles and Lopez are teaming up for a can't-miss collaborative dinner at GOMA Restaurant (July 18).

Melbourne-based pastry chef Darren Purchese joins forces with newly double hatted restaurant The Peak at Maryvale for a six-course degustation dinner, with a happy ending, no doubt (July 12).

First-daters

Out to impress? Your favourite burger joint probably won't cut the mustard. Try one of these events instead.

Visit the Levant with a Middle Eastern feast at Gerard's Bistro (August 4-5).

Pick your own produce from the restaurant's kitchen garden and have it cooked for you at 85 Miskin Street (July 29).

Go French with a truffle dinner at Sake (July 13), Prive 249 (July 17), Montrachet (August 1) and Restaurant Two (July 28), or have a taste of Italy's Piedmont region at Cinco Bistro (July 16)

Cash-strapped

Proving you don't need to dig deep for a good meal or great food related experience, we have plenty for frugal food lovers.

There's a whole host of restaurants of every persuasion offering great value meals with our Good Dinners Under $30 offer.

Join award-winning sommelier Andrew Giblin for cheeses perfectly paired with Clare Valley riesling, cabernet and shiraz at free (no, not a misprint) tastings at Bacchus (Wednesdays from July 15-August 5).

Pick up some treats from Fig Tree farmers' markets (July 15) and Chermside Sunday Gourmet Markets (July 12, 26; August 9) – both have free entry.

Go to Brisbane's first "low and slow" Barbecue Festival at Wandering Cooks (July 18-19) – enjoy lots of smoky barbecued goodness and music for just $15.

Lovers of learning

From pickling to prose, learn a new skill or brush up on old ones.

Interested in native produce? Join bush tucker chef Dale Chapman at Wandering Cooks for a hands-on workshop. Chapman will share her knowledge of native produce and how to use it (July 11).

Sounds simple, but learn how to make one marinade with Chow House chef Timmy Kemp and you'll be able to use it in multiple Thai dishes (July 30).

Become an instant beer expert under the tutelage of beer guru Matt Kirkegaard at The Alliance Hotel. Enjoy four matched courses while learning about what goes into making beer and sampling classic Coopers brews, including a "vertical tasting" of three vintages of Coopers Vintage Ale (July 23).

Ever wanted to be a food writer? Join Le Cordon Bleu academic Roger Haden and food writer Barbara Sweeney at The Sofitel for a workshop that covers food writing through the ages and how to sharpen your prose (July 11).

World travellers

Travel the (culinary) world without leaving your armchair or indulge in a taster for your next trip.

World Safari dinners during Good Food Month include French, Celtic, American, Middle Eastern and Thai. (Multiple dates)

Travel through south-east Asia with a modern Asian share plate at Longtime (July 9-12, 14-19, 21-26, 28-31).

Try the Spanish speciality Paella De Mariscos – saffron rice cooked with a selection of local seafood, perfect for sharing, at the Mercure (Daily throughout Good Food Month).

Share some crisp-bottomed gyoza, spicy Sichuan pork and more at Peng You Kitchen (July 12-15, 19-22, 26-29; August 2-5, 9).

Music lover? Attend a concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Italy's most revered chamber music ensemble, I Musici, then dine at QPAC's Lyrebird with a four-course menu inspired by the four seasons (July 15-18).

Out of towners

There is heaps happening regionally for Good Food Month too if you're looking for an excuse to get out of the city.

Join chef Shane Bailey and his team at the Noosa Boathouse for a four-course feast moored on the Noosa River with a dinner featuring regional produce including Hervey Bay scallops and local smoked fish (August 2).

Chill at Main Beach is celebrating sustainability and the tastes of Queensland with a series of "Queensland on a Plate" dinners (July 13-18, 20-25, 27-31; August 1, 3-8).

Enjoy a long-table lunch with a difference under the trees at Homage at Spicers Hidden Vale. Compare dishes with ingredients old and young (veal versus aged beef), and home-grown and bought (vegetables from the garden versus supermarket), matched with wine (July 25).

Have breakfast with one of the state's best beach views at Season in Noosa, with a weekly changing Let's Do Breakfast menu including house-made crumpets, vanilla-roasted Eumundi strawberries, Maleny cream and more. (Weekdays during Good Food Month)

Spice Bar at Mooloolaba is celebrating local seafood, putting a modern Asian twist on scallops, spanner crab and mahi-mahi (July 16).

Settle in for some Sunday afternoon joie de vivre at Spicer's Clovelly at Montville with a seafood and Sancerre lunch (July 12). Meanwhile, sister property The Tamarind has a "long lazy Sunday" lunch featuring a special menu highlighting the travels, experiences and inspiration of its chefs (August 2).

Wasabi Noosa has special guest, director turned winemaker Julian Castagna, discussing the idea that while we often ask where our food comes from and what methods were used to grow it what about what we drink? This lunch and discussion looks at biodynamics, the energy of Renaissance des Appellations wines and the fight for the authentic taste of terroir (July 26).

Toast the sunset (and maybe a migrating whale or two) from Scarness Pier at Harvey Bay. There's a cocktail bar and food stations showing off Fraser Coast produce (July 25).

Lovers of libations

Whether it's wine, beer or whisky that rocks your world, there's a workshop or tasting for all tastes.

Gin lovers should Bar Hop (responsibly, of course) across some of Brisbane's best watering holes. Participating bars are are offering a Tanqueray cocktail and bar snack for $20 (July 9-August 9).

Join Australia's greatest winemaker Louisa Rose of Yalumba for a three-course vegan feast prepared by Urbane's Alejandro Cancino (July 22).

Have a guided whisky tasting with experts at Nant Whisky Bar and learn about the process of single malt whisky making (July 9-11, 14-18, 21-25, 28-31; August 1, 4-8).

Try some claret-style wine from around the world. The Bordeaux classic will be put up against examples from Australia, South America, and several other Old and New World regions at Claret House Wine Bar (July 14).

Raconteur and Yalumba winemaker Jane Ferrari partners with Brisbane's Cabassi & Co Artisan Butchers and baker Lachlan Scott for a "gastronomic journey" paired with rare and fine Barossa wines (July 14).

And last, but not least...

The much-loved Night Noodle Markets will be back (July 22-August 2) with lots of delicious Asian street food, bars and music.

Details for all of these events and ticketing information can be found online at brisbane.goodfoodmonth.com