The Sample Food Festival, held on September 10 at the Bangalow Showground, was enormously popular with over 10,000 people attending throughout the day.
“We were thrilled with the crowd” said festival organiser Remy Tancred. “There were of course locals from across the Northern Rivers and I also met many visitors down from the Gold Coast and Brisbane throughout the day”.
Hundreds of children enjoyed entertainment from Cupcake the Clown, Lenny the Lion, Byron Bay Kidz Club, the Macadamia Castle and others. Non-stop entertainment from Kurtis, Kato and Wolf, Eliza McLeod, Ilona Harker and Tres Hombres had the crowd kicking back on the grass, enjoying the restaurant offerings.
Nearly all of the 22 restaurant marquees sold out of their $5.00 and $10.00 tasting plates, some before they could even offer the Sample Judges a taste. Belinda Jeffrey, Joanna Savill, Barbara Sweeney and Steve Snow judged the best of the plates over the course of the day, presenting the Golden Fork Awards at the Sample Gala Dinner on Saturday night at The Byron at Byron Resort.
The sell out dinner was attended by 150 guests, who enjoyed four courses with matching wines prepared by eight of the regions’ top Chefs – Monique Gutteres-Harrison, Gavin Hughes, Adam Smith, Perry Hill, Katrina Kanetani, Scott Frost, Peter Busara and Joe Griffin.
The $5.00 plate winner was Satiate for their lemon myrtle and lime meringue cupcakes, with Harvest achieving the runner up place for their Harvest brioche roll with John Singh’s braised shredded pork, onion jam and Coopers Shoot Tomatoes.
The $10.00 plate winner was Fleurs Restaurant in Ballina for their saffron infused mussels with chorizo. The Beautiful Feast achieved the runner up place for their Ploughman’s plate with marmalade glazed Bangalow ham. Seaweed Cuisine and The Boardwalk were awarded Peoples’ Choice Awards for their record number of plates sold on the day.
“I was so pleased the exhibitors had a successful day and really appreciated the support of my sponsors who made the festival happen” said Remy Tancred.