It's back! After a two-year hiatus, Sydney Good Food Month presented by Citi, returns this January with nearly 50 special events, pop-ups, collaborations and masterclasses. Now in its 23rd year, the program celebrates the best of hospitality across New South Wales.
Headlining the month on January 13, Alessandro Pavoni (Ormeggio at The Spit), Guy Grossi (Grossi Florentino), Giovanni Pilu (Pilu at Freshwater) and Jacqui Challinor (NOMAD) will metaphorically moor along the Italian coast, exploring the regions dish-by-dish for That's a'Mare: Food of the Italian Coast.
Established restaurants are also supporting up-and-coming chefs. In Potsville, Pipit is hosting the Girl Gang Young Chefs Collab Dinner on January 25, spotlighting Northern River rising stars, local female producers and women in wine.
On January 30, Rockpool Bar & Grill will hand the kitchen over to brothers Luke and Sam Bourke (Rockpool and Margaret respectively), Jayde Harris (Rockpool) and Keith Munro (Icebergs) for the inaugural Young Indigenous Chefs Lunch. Every ticket sold includes a donation to the National Indigenous Culinary Institute.
The events are as much about the experiences as the eats. Food and cinema come together with special event NOMAD x Golden Age Cinema, where NOMAD executive chef Jacqui Challinor has created a one-off Moroccan menu to accompany a screening of Casablanca.
Fancy a night in Paris? Gavroche Chippendale and Laurent Perrier are pairing a four-course French feast and champagne with a burlesque show for Gavroche Chippendale: A night in Paris. Those wanting to splash out can have their glass filled with 2013 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne while snacking on canapes at O Bar and Dining, followed by a five-course tasting menu of Oscietra caviar, crustaceans and wagyu beef. It's $400 per person with matched wines and Harbour views.
Collabs just keeping getting bigger and better, and at Sydney Good Food Month it'll be no different. Rising Sun Workshop is joining forces with Butter Sydney for Butter: Ain't nuthin but a Chicken Party - a six-course chicken feast, cooked across fryers and coals and paired with bottomless pet nat and tinnies.
There's BBQ Wars - a barbecue battle between NOLA Smokehouse and Bar and Smokin Hot 'N Saucy, where each side will present a dish over four courses for diners to vote on. Between the battles, allies will also come together.
There is also a bounty of opportunities to travel with your taste buds. Every Wednesday in January, Tequila Mockingbird will host Nikkei Nights with a five-course menu dedicated to the cuisine of Japanese-Peruvian migrants, matched with Latin wines from Viticult & Bibendum. An Indonesian seafood grill will land at Salt & Palm for Sunday lunch on January 16 and 23, mimicking those set up at Bali's Jimbaran Bay. In Newtown on January 16 and 30, Little Lagos will celebrate West African culture with the food, cocktails and Afrobeats to match.
Whether Secolo Dining's all-you-can-eat pizza and bottomless Aperol spritz party in the piazza between Sydney CBD's ANZ Tower and Castlereagh Street, or some friendly competition in the form of the Good Weekend live culinary quiz at Rockpool Bar & Grill, the Sydney Good Food Month program is packed with food-related fun.
There's something for everyone – no matter how deep your pockets or particular your palette – and ticket bookings are live now.
Sydney Good Food Month presented by Citi runs through January. For more information and tickets, visit goodfoodmonth.com.
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