We’re hard pressed to think of a food with as much perennial appeal in as Italy’s. “It’s practically our national cuisine,” says Lara Caraturo of the Italian Wine and Food Festival.
And for the sixth year, Sydney’s largest celebration of the epicurean pursuits of Italy returns. The festival is packed with some of the city’s best purveyors of pizza, pasta, gelati and other delicacies for a day of feasting and drinking. It happens on Sunday August 26, this time at Eveleigh’s Australian Technology Park.
As well as wine tastings, a trattoria-style wine garden and an aperitivi bar serving spritzes all day, there will be masterclasses for those who want to brush up on their Italian vino knowledge. There will be pop-up restaurants, a free bruschetta station and 30-minute cooking demonstrations. “We want festival-goers to see a different side of seemingly simple ingredients, discover some beautiful relationships between Sydney’s Italian chefs and their producers, and learn how to create better Italian food at home,” says Caraturo.
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SHOP NOWAuthor and TV host Silvia Colloca, who Caraturo calls “Australia’s answer to Nigella Lawson”, will be cooking on one of the two festival stages, as will Claudio Barzano of Marta, Matteo Zamboni of Jonah’s Restaurant and chef and restaurateur Stefano Manfredi of Balla.
Manfredi will be doing his version of pizza in teglia, or Roman “pan pizza”, which is cooked in a long baking tray, laid out in counters and sold by the slice.
“We will also have [one of the city’s best pizza-makers, Lucio De Falco of Lucio Pizzeria doing real Neapolitan pizza,” says Caraturo. “Then we have Luigi Esposito from Via Napoli doing pizza fritta, which is another Neapolitan pizza, but folded and fried.”
Expect toppings on the fried pizza such as buffalo ricotta, tomatoes, salami, mozzarella, basil and pepper.
Cow & The Moon will be serving gelati, Surry Hills’ Formaggi Ocello will be slicing cheese and Brickfields will be stuffing its ciabatta breads with Italian ingredients. Bondi’s Rocker will be serving a risotto from Milan with parmesan, crisp capers and gremolata (parsley with lemon zest, garlic and anchovy). Before you leave, swing past the marketplace to grab salumi, pasta, bread, coffee, olive oil and pastries.
The Italian Wine and Food Festival is on Sunday August 26 from 10am to 6.30pm at Australian Technology Park.