Its been a long time between drinks on the blog. Instead of writing posts about the rest of my travels around Europe, I got busy preparing to be a mum, and then actually became a mum. 5 and a half months later, I’m starting to get used to interrupted sleep, crying and cute gummy smiles from my son Asher, and thought I might attempt a return to some pre-baby activities – like writing, eating good food, and going to crowded festivals. This post is a combination of all three.
Last year’s Good Food and Wine Show was my first. While I had an amazing time, I was eight weeks pregnant at the time and was constantly asking myself ‘can I eat this?’ every time I put something in my mouth. We came home with piles of food, empty wallets, and an autographed cookbook by Tobie Puttock which we won merely by sitting in the crowd of his live cooking show.
I was hoping that the 2010 show would impress just as much. And for the first 45 minutes it did. Asher was happily sleeping in his pram while my sister Amy and I hopped from stall to stall, gasping with excitement at all the yummy goods on display. At the Adora Handmade Chocolates Stall we shared a liquid chocolate shot and then promptly bought some hot-chocolate-on-a-stick (the chocolate melts when placed in hot milk, leaving you with a blob of melting chocolate which you can lick, and a yummy hot chocolate at the end – what a brilliant idea!) We passed Kylie Kwong and Alvin from Masterchef in the crowd.
However, once we entered the Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris (two of the judges from Masterchef) live cooking show, things started to look less rosy. There was ten minutes of various MC’s and ‘comedians’ before Gary and George even appeared, and then I was underwhelmed by what Gary and George cooked – beetroot and fetta dip? That’s not particularly inventive. Asher also found all the loud noises and flashing lights disturbing, so I spent most of the show standing up comforting him. The crowds had swelled by the time the show was over, which made pushing the pram an effort – not to mention the evil glances I got from people as I attempted to move (did they ever consider they might be getting in my way?)
We had a late lunch at the celebrity chef restaurant in the middle of the convention hall – the polenta gnocchi had a strong cheese flavour and was quite filling, while the goats curd cheesecake with lemon syrup was lovely when you first bit into it, but then had a rather strange aftertaste that came from the goats curd. We had intended to buy the various components for dinner from the show, but after lunch we were so exhausted – and full! – that we ended up leaving, with only chocolate, some sourdough, and mustard and dill aioli. At least I didn’t spend as much money as 2009!
Reflecting on it later, one of the most disappointing aspects of the day for me was the lack of the search. This is a undercurrent in all my shopping experiences and lifestyle choices – the thrill of discovering something new. Its why I listen to Triple J, why I search recipe books for new dinner ideas every week, and why I love to travel. I had been so excited the previous year because I had been overwhelmed with new tastes and smells by companies I had never heard of before. However I found that with baby in tow, I could no longer dawdle and enjoy the moment, plus many exhibitors were the same. Coming home with only a handful of new products was anticlimatic – just like that shopping trip when you don’t find the one piece of clothing you were really searching for.
Hopefully I’ll be back with another new experience to share soon!
