Up to 15,000 people from all over Sydney turned out for a fantastic day of food, fun and free entertainment at Bankstown City Council's annual food festival, Bankstown Bites. The beautiful weather was a blessing and was reflected in the great turn out.
The festival opened with Yagoona District Band parading their way through the event to the stage. On the main stage celebrity chef Darren Simpson flaunted some of his classic Italian recipes whilst engaging well with his audience. Festival attendees were also treated to demonstrations and tastings of the delicious dishes cooked up by Bankstown Sports' sous chef Antonios Chayna, joined by apprentice Ben Ndreka. Executive Chef Robert Green and Sous Chef Hung Le of Bel Cibo, Revesby Workers' Club, also participated in the cooking demonstrations with one of the restaurant's popular dishes. Antonios Chayna was also kind enough to co host a demonstration by junior chef, Lena Dovan.
The live food action was complemented by the Carmen Miranda dancers of Brazilian Fantasy Productions, the slapstick Comedy Chef Duo and a few songs by the talented singers of Bankstown City Council's Talent Advancement Program (TAP).
This year a second stage was introduced to the Northern end of the event site. The segment was hosted by performers Blake Ralph and Sarah Bertram who also played a few sets. The main feature of this stage was the TAP performers who sung a range of popular songs to entertain the crowds.
The diversity of food stalls on offer made for a fantastic food festival. There were 24 in total ranging from Japanese to Mexican, Lebanese to Filipino and also a range of pre-packaged delights.
Bankstown Multicultural Youth Service again participated in the festival hosting rice paper roll making workshops, the Yagoona-Greenacre guides hosted a food craft stall, and other activities included sand and glitter craftwork, face painting and the Arabic coffee tent. Puppet shows proved more popular with the children this year.
Council's Environment team participated with their Love Food Hate Waste initiative, providing excellent help and advice on how to save money on groceries and reduce overall food waste.
The Discovery Food Tours were well received and the addition of three new tours proved very popular. A record ten Discovery Food Tours were on offer with 27 local food businesses participating, including Bankstown Sports. Tour participants were treated to three venues on each tour where they sampled the delights and signature dishes on the menu. Each tour took place at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.00pm offering participants flexible options and the opportunity to take part in different tours. Tours ranged from Eastern Cuisine, European Delights, Treats from the Middle East, Taste of Asia just to name a few. The Discovery Food Tours will certainly be a feature of the 2012 festival.
Bankstown Bites food festival continues to grow in popularity; it is, as we always like to say, all about the food! Without the support of our sponsors we could not continue to provide the community with this wonderful day of free, family entertainment. Our sincere thanks goes to our sponsors who helped make the day such a success:
• Torch Publishing
• Bankstown Sports
• Bankstown RSL
• Revesby Workers' Club
• Canterbury-Bankstown Express
Also a huge thanks to St John Ambulance, Bankstown Local Area Command, Bankstown SES and all of our volunteers and community partners. Bankstown City Council is looking forward to the 2012 festival, scheduled for Saturday 28 July 2012. Follow the website for updates closer to the event.
For a limited time only, Bankstown Library will be the host to the Australian Cookbooks display. This travelling display from the State Library of NSW can be viewed in Bankstown from July 19 to 18 September 2011. Don't miss this opportunity to discover for yourself the vibrant and fascinating culinary story about food trends and curiosities from the 1860s to the present day.
| Bankstown BItes 2011 |
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 View a copy of the Bankstown CBD Map including parking
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| Kids Cooking |
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 Exciting recipe ideas for kids to cook over school holidays
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| Love Food Hate Waste |
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 We all love food! Yet the average household throws away a staggering $1000 of food and drinks per year.
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