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Sydney Good Food Month 2019: The Vegan Queen, Hiroyuki Sato and global stars

Sarah Keoghan

Chef Shannon Martinez brings her acclaimed vegan food to Mary's Underground.
Chef Shannon Martinez brings her acclaimed vegan food to Mary's Underground.Benn Wood

When chef Shannon Martinez moved into the world of vegan cooking 15 years ago, the idea of a meat-free parmigiana was simply unheard of. Now playing host to an entirely vegan dinner at this year's Good Food Month, Martinez is in awe about how the world around her is finally catching up.

In its 21st year, Good Food Month 2019 will be pushing into the new, replacing the pop-up restaurant style event that has run the past two years with one-off dining experiences in an effort to "pay tribute to Sydney's evolving and innovative dining scene".

Martinez, who is behind Melbourne's famed Smith & Daughters and Smith & Deli, will bring her vegan cooking to an intimate dining experience in the newly opened Mary's Underground in Circular Quay in celebration of changing times.

Sushi from Tokyo restaurant Hakkoku.
Sushi from Tokyo restaurant Hakkoku.Supplied
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And while her Instagram page is normally flooded with imaginative creations such as her vegan take on Four'n Twenty pies and "chicken" nuggets, Martinez says she will be steering clear of stereotypical vegan "mocks" and looking at unique plant-based New Orleans cuisine and a whole lot of bourbon instead.

The event, which will be held on October 10, will also be complemented by a big brass band selected by music director Joe Muller.

"Being from Melbourne, live music is in my blood, so I really want to help Mary's with their whole crusade of getting live music back into Sydney," she said. "We are going to try and keep it really dark, swampy and sexy … we want the vibe to be a bit wild."

You put your ego aside … a chef is there to give people a good experience.
Chef Shannon Martinez

The head of food events for Nine, Venessa Cowell, says this year's changes to Good Food Month are the result of keeping up with "Sydney's dynamic food culture".

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"In 2019, we're excited to move our feature events back into venues across Sydney, heroing the local institutions that define our harbour city," she says.

During last year's Good Food Month, Martinez held an event at the original Mary's in Newtown, with lines backed up to King Street. Not a vegan herself, the meat-eating chef says it's her ability to compare her creations to the real deal that evolves her craft.

Chef Hiroyuki.
Chef Hiroyuki.Supplied

"When you are trying to replicate non-vegan dishes … it's very hard to replicate something you haven't eaten in 20 years, but for me, if I'm trying to make vegan brie then I know exactly what brie tastes like," she says. "You put your ego aside … a chef is there to give people a good experience and no one was doing that for vegans when I started so I decided that I would make that my focus."

Aside from the vegan queen, one of this year's most anticipated events during Good Food Month will be the dinners starring world-renownedJapanese chef Hiroyuki Sato.

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While his restaurant Hakkoku has only six seats and usually has a waitlist of six months, diners will be able to snag a spot beside Bondi Beach and watch as he transforms the Icebergs Dining Room and Bar private dining room into an exclusive sushi bar alongside Icebergs executive chef Monty Koludrovic.

Only two dinners will be held, on October 15 and 16, at $1000 a head for 20+ courses.

Legendary three-Michelin-starred French chef Alain Passard, of Paris' Arpege (currently eighth on the World's Best Restaurants list), also joins the billing for an exclusive night at the two-hat Restaurant Hubert.

Two of the best chefs in the country, Peter Gilmore and Restaurant Orana's Jock Zonfrillo, will also join forces on October 24 for a night at the Quay featuring Australian native ingredients and cuisine.

Katherine Sabbath, who just surpassed 500,000 followers on Instagram for her creative cake-baking talents, will be spending this year's event reimagining the high tea at the QT on October 6.

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In light of this year's "modern, innovative and fresh" theme, Sydney's Italian institution, Otto, will be highlighting the city's best upcoming chefs, as nominated by the nation's chefs, for an evening of pasta and wine towards the back end of the festival, on October 27.

The event's famous night noodle markets will also run this year in Hyde Park for a reduced duration of eight days, kicking off on October 10 with 40 stalls, including Gelato Messina, Hoy Pinoy, Shallot Thai, Mr Bao, Bangkok Street Food, Fry'd, Biang Biang Noodles, Satay Brothers, Johnny Bird, Let's Do Yum Cha, Chur Burger and Fly Over Fritterie. The free event is also moving with the times and is completely cash-free this year.

Tickets for Good Food Month will go on sale on Thursday, July 25, at 9am from goodfoodmonth.com.

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