Category: Events | Post by: Andrea Wong
The Food Show, oh The Food Show!
The four-day Food Show must be one of the highlights on any foodie's calendar. There is something special about spending the day wandering around, talking to the exhibitors and sampling their goods with appreciative "mmmm" sounds.
With over 250 exhibitors and talks by celebrity chefs going all day, it was always going to be a long, exciting day. I had everything planned: I had three celebrity chef shows that I wanted to see, lots of people to talk to and I anticipated that I'd be done by 3.00pm. In hindsight that was a bit optimistic, I think...
10.00am
Standing amongst a sea of people in black winter coats, with carry bags and empty wheelie suitcases, I queued up at the Auckland Show Grounds, waiting in the crisp air ready to go into the Show.
With a map in-hand, I sauntered into the hall. All too soon, I started to feel overwhelmed, paralysed like a possum caught in a car's headlights. Where do I start?
I broke the ice with a nice wee sampling of Barker's jams and chatted with people behind the stand. New packaging is on its way for Barkers, did you know? They are going for a more traditional, home-made look. Nice.
10.20am
Before long, it was time to find the Electrolux Cooking Theatre, where I was to watch the first of three celebrity chef talks that I had chosen to see. After consulting my map, I realised that I had to go through all three halls to the theatre right on the other side.
Is it possible for me to walk past these hundreds of stalls and get to the theatre on time? I was determined and on a mission. Apart from a couple of chats and tasty diversions from Kaweka and The Village Press, I made it to the theatre on time for Annabelle White's show.
Watching how the experts do it
The eternally effervescent and entertaining Annabelle White put on a great demonstration, showcasing some of the wonderful food available at the Food Show. At the end of the demo, people started streaming in to see Donna Hay. Every one seems to be buzzing with excitement, waiting to see Donna. While waiting for the show to start, I chatted with the lady sitting next to me. It turns out that she is Donna Hay's helper's mother - how fortuitous (hi Enyth)! Peta Mathias rounded off my series of celebrity chef talks. Enthusiastic as always, Peta made us a menu inspired by her recent trip to
Rajasthan. Watching the celebrity chefs was great, they all made dishes that were so simple and quick but were obviously delicious. It's so inspiring.
(The celebrity chefs' recipes can be found on The Food Show website)
The nibbles and sips
2.15pm
Nibbling, sipping and chatting my way around the aisles, I discovered some great products like Proper Crisps (handmade crisps), Kohu Road (icecream), Loaf (slices and bread), Frenz Eggs (free range eggs) and Alchemy Beverages (honey wine and liqueur). Stand after stand of honey, chutneys, bread, oils, sausages, pasta, gourmet ready meals, coffee and wines sure kept thousands of foodies happy. Greg Hall from Kohu Road noted on his Twitter account that they served up almost 50,000 samples of ice cream. With numbers like that, exhibitors and foodies alike are bound to have a great time!
5.15pm
With tired feet and my bag heavy with precious purchases, I was more than ready to go home. So much for leaving by 3.00pm. At least I had achieved what I set out to achieve: to meet, eat, drink and shop my way around The Food Show. It was a great day, I'm looking forward to next year!
Did you go to The Food Show? What did you think?