An extract from our Sydney Guide (be warned, this will make you hungry)
We should all adore food (and the people who produce it) as much as Maeve O’Meara, the Sydney-based writer and broadcaster who has been running Gourmet Safaris culinary tours for 26 years and counting. As a fan of SBS’s Food Safari, a television show that explored Australia’s immigrant food culture, I was a little star-stuck meeting Maeve for her Marrickville Producers tour – an excursion that takes you, on foot, to meet some of the suburb’s foodie powerhouses. But any nerves faded over our pre-walk coffee, with her warmth and passion setting the convivial mood.
While feasting is a big part of a Gourmet Safaris experience, it’s the stories you pick up along the way that make them special. At Double Roasters (renowned as much for their brews as they are for dealing directly with coffee growers), owner Scott Robertson mused on what sets Australia’s cafe culture apart. While there’s romance in the Italian approach, standing at a counter with your espresso, Scott sees Sydney’s cafes as meeting places where you’re allowed to take things slow. “We open at 5am and there’s a real mix of people coming in. We’ve got sparkies, barristers, kids coming home from a night out. Coffee is one of those great levellers, you don’t need to be rich to enjoy it.”
Just up the road is This Is Us, a bakery renowned for their sourdough crumpets and English muffins – they prefer to leave bread to those who’ve already perfected it. “I’m not a baker,” jokes owner Sam Moussa, who proves that it’s never too late for a career pivot. “I’m a food nerd who worked in sales in the construction industry but hit 40 and wanted to do something different.” Sam’s crumpets are delicious when slathered in honey and buffalo ricotta, which is conveniently made at nearby Vannella Cheese.
Vannella’s founder, Vito Minoia, began making cheese at the ago of 16 in Puglia and has been running the Sydney company, named after his wife, for more than 50 years. Vito was the first person to produce burrata in Australia and still pasteurises milk early in the mornings, working alongside his son Giuseppe and granddaughter Martina. Their wares can be picked up at Carriageworks Farmers Markets (a must for gourmands), and Maeve recommends investing in their marinated buffalo feta: “a jar in the fridge means happiness,” she laughs.
Other stops along the tour included Feather and Bone, a sustainable butcher, and 20 Chapel, a new restaurant with a custom negroni on tap from neighbouring gin distillery Poor Toms (of strawberry gin fame). Glasses were also raised at Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre, an 80s-style brewery that’s home to Lucky Prawn, a Chinese restaurant where Nick Wong serves up a flavourful hit of 80s Australian nostalgia (think prawn toast and deep fried viennetta ice-cream). And we ended the day at Messina HQ, ideal if you’re hankering after inventive gelato or a six-course degustation meal where every dish contains a frozen element.
Being able to chat to producers, guided by someone with so much knowledge and curiosity, changes the way you see food; it makes you appreciate what it means to buy fair trade and small, and understand the time and devotion needed to craft something scrumptious. I’ll be back for seconds.
For more brilliant Sydney ideas (think restaurants, activities, walks, swims and places to stay), check out our Sydney Guide here.
