Omnivore Sydney brings travelling chefs to town

James Henry is one of a handful of travelling chefs who will take part in the first Omnivore Sydney from October, 3-6. Launched in Paris 10 years ago - first as a magazine dedicated to young, cutting-edge chefs and, later, as an event combining masterclasses, collaborative dinners and a few fabulous parties, all with a mostly Gen X spin, Omnivore is billed as "100 per cent jeune cuisine''.

Last year, Omnivore went on the road, taking its festival line-up to destinations as diverse as Moscow, Istanbul, San Francisco and Shanghai. In October, it's Sydney's turn.

Henry is not the only Australian repatriating for the event. Thomas Lim (formerly of Sydney's Duke and Ms. G's) is flying in from LA, after moving there last year to head up Goldies, a "farm-and-ranch" diner described by online food hub grubstreet as an "outback hideaway".

Then there's Frenchman Sven Chartier from Saturne in Paris. On Omnivore home ground in March this year, the 26-year-old's elegant, vegetable-focused cooking earned him the title of Creative Talent of the Year. He also partnered (during Omnivore Paris) with chef Dan Hunter (formerly of the Royal Mail) for one of the chef collaboration dinners the Paris crew refers to as the "F…ing Dinner" series. (They've amended the title to Amazing Dinners for the Australian audience. Probably wise.) Other internationals on the Sydney program include Jamie Oliver pal and business partner Derek Dammann from Montreal's Maison Publique and Auckland idol Michael Meredith of Meredith's (a Cuisine magazine restaurant of the year).

While Omnivore replicates a familiar chef festival model, it generates a discernible buzz. With the involvement of locals such as Sixpenny's James Parry; Daniel Puskas and Darren Robertson from Three Blue Ducks; and Mat Lindsay (formerly of Sydney's Billy Kwong and soon to be at Vini spin-off Ester), the buzz might just become a roar.

James Henry will be in Sydney in October for the Omnivore World Tour.