Taste of Perth: Chilli salted crickets anyone?
Take 10 of Perth’s finest chefs, trade their shiny kitchens for an outdoor arena and pit them head to head in a battle of the tastebuds. It might sound like the latest instalment of The Hunger Games, but the reality was so much better.
Take 10 of Perth’s finest chefs, trade their shiny kitchens for an outdoor arena and pit them head to head in a battle of the tastebuds. It might sound like the latest instalment of The Hunger Games, but the reality was so much better.
The inaugural Taste of Perth festival was more than a gastronome’s dream, it brought trendy food and drink to the masses. Among the five star samples were dishes from Greenhouse Perth, Bib and Tucker, Print Hall, Lalla Rookh and Co-op Dining.
Adventurous palates were invited to try chilli-salted crickets, freshly fried at the El Publico marquee. At $30, the dish not only challenged the stomach, but the wallet too, and came with a shot of mescal – a Mexican spirit.
For a more reasonable $12, guests could sample the Mexican eatery’s cuttlefish tostada. Crispy, tender, spicy, piquante and impossible to eat politely, the dish was deemed a festival favourite. It took top prize at the gala awards event on Friday night.
Most restaurants on show embraced current food trends, including beef cheek, pork belly and salted caramel among their showpiece dishes. Nobu took it a step further and dished up generous servings of pork belly with spicy miso caramel.
The longest queues were for Bistro Guillaume’s offerings, which included chicken liver parfait, lamb cutlets ratatouille and giant salted caramel macarons. The latter proved so popular they sold out midway through the Sunday afternoon session.
The signature dish at No4 Blake Street also sold out early. Served in a terracotta pot, the ‘chocolate garden’ comprised edible soil, nuts and salted caramel. Burswood restaurant Silks offered a variety of textures in its dessert too, with its mango sago pudding giving way to a layer of rich crème brulee.
In between sampling, guests could also participate in cooking demonstrations, learn to shake it with the best of them in the cocktail bar or shop for local produce.
Taste of Perth was the final event in the month-long Eat Drink Perth festival, held by the City of Perth.