Thursday, July 1, 2010

Sydney Good Food and Wine Show 2010 Giveaway

So what's all this?
The Good Food and Wine Show (GFWS) is on in Sydney from 16-18th July 2010!

My visit to the GFWS last year was a raging success.  So much so that I am eagerly awaiting this year's production, and that's coming from someone who hates crowds as a rule.  And this is despite the fact that the popular Show can get quite crowded, and some stamina is required.

So here are some pointers for surviving and enjoying the GFWS.

1. Be prepared.  Before you go, check out the show's website for list of exhibitors and presentations and see if there are any that you must visit.
2. Book yourself into one of the sessions in the Celebrity Chef Theatre.  We saw Matt Moran last year and he put on an entertaining show and cooked some wonderful dishes as well.
3. Decide if you want to attend a class (extra cost). They have classes in coffee skills and cupcake-making this year.  There's also a cooking school to learn how to cook 'proper' food.  And a Chocolate masterclass.
 4. Do you want to eat at the show, or just subsist on the free samples? The onsite restaurant has dishes cooked by various well-known chefs and it's kind of like Taste of Sydney so you can buy as many dishes as you like. 
5.  Are you a drinker?  Not sure if there'll be an RBT van outside, but if you're not driving, then the wine masterclasses and tastings should be on your agenda.  There was a large representation of wine producers last year.
6.  From a practical point of view, make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothing. There's lots of walking and shoving involved.  Pointy elbows an advantage.
7.  If you're easily overwhelmed by all that food and all those freebies, samples and special offers, you need to bring a trolley with you (one of those cloth jobs with wheels, not a supermarket trolley).  They have them on sale at the Show as well, and last year, it was the best $30 we spent.
8.  Personally, I like to take a methodical approach when visiting shows like this. Start at the bottom left hand corner of the hall, go up the first aisle, turn right, then down the next aisle, left into the next aisle, etc.  It means less chance of missing out on anything.  But be prepared to ignore this plan if you see something over there with lots of people around it (must mean it's something good/free).
9.  If you buy lots of stuff, remember that you still have to get it all home, maybe on public transport.
10. Enter my giveaway for a free double pass to the Show.

 -----------------------------

That's right, thanks to the folks at the GFWS you could win one of three double passes to the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show

How do you geddit???
Just leave a comment on this post with the magic words 'Coriander is Evil'
Entries close midnight, Sunday 11th July 2010.

Good luck!

--------------- Conditions of GFWS 2010 Giveaway ---------------------
1. Entry is by leaving a comment that includes the magic words. Enter as many times as you like (separate comment per entry). 
2. If you do not leave contact details on your entry, you can email your details to me using the Contact tab at the top of this page.
3. Entries close midnight, Sunday 11th July 2010.  Winners are drawn randomly. You can only win once.
4. Prize is for entry only to the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show, 16-18th July 2010. Prizes will be sent by Australia Post mail to the winners.

  ------------------------------------ The Winners are ----------------------------------

The GFWS competition is now closed, and thanks to random.org, the winners are:

Kat Lopez
Natasha
girly_girl

Ladies, I don't have your email addresses, so could you send me your mailing address ASAP, so that I can send out the double passes to you before the Show starts on Friday.  Congratulations! 

oohlookbel2000 [at] gmail [dot] com

Note: Winners, could you email me your details before Wednesday 14th July. If I don't hear from you by then, I will have to redraw and give the tickets to other winners.

41 comments:

  1. Such handy hints :) I remember dragging boxes and boxes of stuff to Suze's car at the end of last year's show. Most of which was mine.

    None of which included coriander. (Can't believe you think Coriander is Evil).

    ;)

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  2. Great tips! Perfect for all of us who want to maximise the value from the show within a day! Oh, the Co-pilot agrees with you that coriander is evil. But I might send him to North Korea for re-education and self criticism! ;P

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  3. Coridander is NOT Evil!

    I love those those trolleys. Bought mine two years ago. It's lime green and dead sexy! So much so that my boyfriend refuses to be seen with me if I'm using it!

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  4. Tomorrow's friday and every friday a guy at my work places our lunch orders to a vietnamese roll takeaway shop, at the top of the fax he scribbles 'coriander is evil.', to remind us all that the rolls all come with this nasty piece of greenery and that we better stipulate that we will be having none of that thank you very much.

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  5. Sorry I had to do this again with my hubby's contact details this time. :) Tomorrow's friday and every friday a guy at my work places our lunch orders to a vietnamese roll takeaway shop, at the top of the fax he scribbles 'coriander is evil.', to remind us all that the rolls all come with this nasty piece of greenery and that we better stipulate that we will be having none of that thank you very much.

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  6. Yay my favourite event of the year (ie. freebies galore)! I missed this last year since I was overseas but I am looking forward to this one :)

    And yeah I agree that coriander is evil. I just can't stand the smell :(

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  7. haha, methodical is my method too! Last year I went from one end of the hall down an aisle and back up the other side all the way to the other end of the hall And I still managed to miss out on the free pizza! Coriander is NOT evil.

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  8. Thanks for the tips Belle. I love strategies on tackling crowds and must disagree with my compatriot Yaya above cos "CORIANDER IS EVIL" :)

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  9. thanks for the tips!! sadly i missed the one last year so I am very much looking forwards to this year's GFWS!

    YES I totally agree! coriander is EVIL!

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  10. GFWS is our yearly treat,
    Sampling all the food & wine is quite a feat.
    All my goodies bags will weigh me down,
    But never will you see me frown !!
    But is coriander evil? or is it a case of green eggs & ham, would you could you?

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  11. Love the hints!

    And coriander is evil (sometimes!) ;)

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  12. Reemski you are confusing me.

    Coriander is Evil

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  13. Wow what a conversation about the evilness of coriander. If you add too much coriander is evil i guess, otherwise it is good.

    I can't wait to all the taste tests.

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  14. You are very lucky to have such a show !! I am jealous !! Pierre

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  15. I thought i should tell you why i used to think 'Coriander is Evil'.
    Back in high school, we had to visit a known revolving restaurant's kitchen for a Food Technology subject. In this kitchen we saw a young chef demonstrating knife skills by chopping up mint. Later at lunch, we ordered the Chocolate and Mint Swiss Roll. Turns out-it wasn't mint leaves he was chopping but coriander!

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  16. Wow, fantastic tips! I have to say, while I've become far less fussy about my food since early highschool, one thing remains true - coriander is evil. That is an understatement. It is the source of all evil. :D
    Although i've heard making it into pesto form is supposed to rid it of its soapy characteristics...

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  17. Coriander IS evil... It is evil because once you've tried something with coriander, everytime you quickly cook something random, the little bugger comes back to haunt you... Wouldn't that taste better with coriander?

    Evil!

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  18. Coriander is Evil

    Thanks for thoses handy tips! :)

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  19. I've put coriander in my salad for lunch today so after all your comments should I throw it away. I'm a recent convert to coriander so I beg to differ in, moderation I say.

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  20. "Get him!" yelled the Sage as Basil surged up from the sides. Thyme tried to grab him but he slipped away."That Coriander is evil!" screamed the Sage and before you could say what's for dinner mum, the coriander diappeared under a chicken thigh fillet.

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  21. Oh I love the free samples at shows like these! And then of course I always get sucked into buying something as well! But never coriander, because coriander is EVIL!! Haha it really does divide people, doesn't it?

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  22. If i will tell you that 'Coriander is Evil' i will lay to you just to get my ticket but mama said a little white lay never hurt anyone(Forest Gump)

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  23. There are many different schools of thought, I am of the opinion that onions are evil but in certain other corners... coriander is evil...very very evil

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  24. The first time I ever ate Thai I thought "Coriander is Evil", but since then I've acquired the taste and quite like it actually

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  25. Coriander is Evil only when you mix it with saw dust but on it's on it's lovely as a Thai dish garnish :-) Why did the Pad Thai cross the road — because it thought the coriander is evil! ;-)

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  26. Corriander is evil - all in agrement, raise your knives!

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  27. (Not an entry because I managed to win some tickets already) Coriander is NOT evvil =p

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  28. I'd love to be more adventurous with my home cooking, but my kids say Coriander is Evil

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  29. Coriander is Evil?

    Sniff Sniff, its been such a good garnish to me :(

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  30. I am really excited at the thought of going to this again, loved it a couple of years ago and I agree, the trolleys are a godsend!! Although I did feel a little like a Nanna on the way home lol!

    Coriander.. well, I have to say coriander is evil because I once used it in tabouli accidentally... nuff said ;) (ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww)

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  31. ok ok , i'll say it (but for the record, i am crossing my left hand's fingers behind my back as I type this one handed)..

    Coriander is evil

    That hurt. But the prize at stake is sooo worth it!

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  32. Bur that evil coriander couldn't hide for long, exposed by the fork and shreieking child "Muuuum! What's this green stuff under my chicken?". "It's coriander and you can eat it" Mum replies. "I'm not eating that! Coriander is evil!" exclaimed the knowledgable child.

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  33. damn tootin' coriander is evil. I love most herbs and spices, but that coriander, oh it makes me shake my fist. the worst thing about that evil coriander is that the flavour stays with you all day, hours after eating it and cleaning your teeth. I would go as far as to say the coriander is vengeful.

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  34. If I get free tickets to the good food and wine show I will walk up to the first celebrity chef I see and say "coriander is evil"

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  35. Coriander is indeed EVIL.

    I always threw them out every time I ate Pork Roll from Vietnamese bakery. Why do they hv to give a bunch of them?

    small, green, leafy, evil thingy.

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  36. With this exclamation the child flicked the coriander from the bowl, through the air and onto the opposite wall. The green mess slid down the wall onto the floor and was quickly devoured by the waiitng dog. "No Rufus!" yelled knowledgable child to dog "Corinader is evil! Don't eat it!".

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  37. To say "Corainder is Evil" is evil!

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  38. yeah goddit 'Coriander is Evil'.

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  39. Coriander is Evil like Dr Evil is evil i.e. not in any serious way.

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  40. Why would anyone say Coriander is evil?

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  41. Coriander is evil and its evil partner is the shallot!

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