I had purchased early bird tickets to this Good Food and Wine Show and had been waiting months to attend it. It wasn't the best day to be out and about in Melbourne ie cold and wet therefore spending the entire day at the show on the last day was a good idea as it was all indoors.
After dropping off my 2 pairs of ice skates to be sharpened at the O'Brien Group Ice Skating Rink down at Docklands ( first mistake of the day - I took the wrong tram and had to walk ), I was able to get back by 10 am in time for the opening of The Good Food and Wine Show at the Melbourne Convention Centre. IWhat a great venue for events. Walking distance from where I was staying at Melbourne YHA Central on Flinders Street.
I could not find my electronic ticket but had no problem gaining priority access to the show as I had a Citibank account - It felt so good not to have to queue up with the hundreds of other general admission ticket holders to the show at 10 am and waiting up to 30 minutes to get into the show.
A search was made using my first and last name and voilà straight in and advised to head straight to the merchandise stand to collect my free wine tasting glass and free vouchers to Maggie Table for ice cream or soup.
I had briefly read about Citibank's dining program and there are perks everywhere - mainly free alcohol which is not of any use to me as I don't drink - well I actually did just a little today.....OK I had to admit it 8% alcohol - is that high or low???? Before I participated in the fermentation (sour kraut making that is ) class.
First stop was to plan my day. I circles all the stands and suppliers I wanted to purchase products off and visited them first - not the best idea as you end up with too much stuff to carry around which becomes very heavy hence the shopping trolleys.
I came across a fermenting class and decided to book myself into the first class at 11 am. Because I have not actually tasted sour kraut before I did not know what was involved in making it. I had heaps of fun in the 45 minute class but what's with the blunt knives?? I could hardly shred my cabbage up!
We were provided with a lump of purple cabbage for the class apparently that was all that was available. By the end of the class my hands were not only picked from the brine juices but purple from all the "massaging" of cabbage in salt to start the fermentation process. I am very proud of my jar of fermenting purple cabbage to take home. It was the highlight of this years show for me! Will have to wait for a minimum of 3 weeks before the fermentation process has done its work and the sour kraut is ready to taste.
I was however disappointed with the lack of quality and quantity of celebrity chefs demonstrating their skills and there was no fresh bread, flour, protein or chocolates this year to purchase at the show.
The show is becoming very much about The Good Wine Show and not The Good Food and Wine Show. Over 50% of the show stands were alcohol or alcoholic related products. There was quite a quantity of cheese stalls at the show - the main one being Tuckers Cheese Alley. In previous years Bruny Island Cheese Company was part of the Cheese Alley however this year they had their own stand away from the other cheeses and also showcased their wines with their existing cheese range. As I did at previous Good Food and Wine Shows, I purchased my regular block of raw milk cheese which Bruny Island Cheese Company has the sole license in Australia to produce for $20 a block.
I also purchased some truss tomatos from Blush Tomatos also a regular purchase. I also needed some juice therefore purchased 2 bottles of Nudie juice.
I also picked up some free samples of Murray River Salt, Charlies Biscuits, Australian almonds, baby truss tomatos and lots of food tastings such as crackers, panna chocolate (not real chocolate ie the chocolates that contain sugar), cheeses, sourdough bread, mushroom dishes, pizza and of course Maggie Beer soup of the day and a mini tub of her ice cream which turned into a light fluffy mousse the next day and which I ate for breakfast with a bowl of hot oats and some fruit.
I was very tired by about lunch time as I had just attended the Cake, Bake and Sweet Show the previous day and then travelled home for a quick change of clothes and pick up my luggage before travelling on the Sydney to Melbourne overnight XPT train arriving on Sunday morning at 7.30 am, heading straight to the YHA Melbourne Central for a shower, quick change of clothes and storing my luggage before dropping off my skates for skate sharpening and heading back to The Good Food and Wine Show. It does pay to stay to the end though as exhibitors start discounting or giving away free stuff. I wish I had asked if I could have that bag of flour before someone else took it! I did manage to get some free mushrooms for my pasta I was planning to prepare that night for dinner. I also purchased a kransky sausage - yuk. I am not a fan of manufactured or processed meat but because there was no real protein for sale at the show I thought I would purchase something that would enhance the flavour of my pasta sauce I planning to prepare that night.
5 pm and end of the very last day of the show. There is a mass exit of people.
15 minutes later I was back at Melbourne Central YHA to check in and retrieve my luggage from the paid lockers - panic I lost the secret code to be entered to reopen the locker but found it eventually on my phone.
I go to reception and check in. Not a problem as I had already prepaid and went straight up to my room. There was a reserved sign with my name and a date on it on my bed - my 2 other roommates were probably wondering "what the?" Yes it's nice to get special treatment at this particular hostel I regularly stay at when I'm down in Melbourne! I have an injury from a few years ago and find it quite difficult to climb ladders and stairs - there is a scar still visible on my right shin hence my request for a single bed or lower bunk bed.
I then change clothes and prepared dinner in the communial kitchen downstairs. I eat my dinner and wash up then head back upstairs to my bed.
One of my roommates was sick and coughing and splattering everywhere so I hope I don't catch anything.
I was having a perfect trip until I was up trying to blog about the events I had just attended until quite late around 10.30 pm but had to abondon my blogging as I received a very disturbing text message from someone I had been trying to "unfriend" for a while. In the end he thinks he "unfriended" me. I'll let him think that as I was too busy down in Melbourne to care. I don't need these type of people in my life - my real friends are the ones that are important to me.
A victim of "Liked by all - Friends with none" perhaps. I uninstalled whatsap that night.
Hence my apologies for late posting of this blog. (photos attached of Good Food and Wine Show)
No comments:
Post a Comment