#gfaws

On Friday night I went for a BBQ and a couple of beers round my buddy Mike's house with a few other guys and girls, as is the Australian way. We fire up the XBox - the first time I've picked up the beautiful, smooth controller since leaving England - and play through some Gears of War 3. It's good, but that's not why I'm here. During the evening we get talking about a food and wine convention that's currently in town at the Brisbane Convention Centre. Tim & Shell tell us that they went last year and had a blast and it's decided that we should all go the following day.

We arrive at the convention centre, pay the $23.50 entry price and make our way into the exhibition hall. Here, we discover that we need to buy a glass to carry round with us for the tastings. The place is bustling with people, some seemingly rather half-cut already, and we dodge between them as we make our way to the merchandise stall to purchase our glasses. $3 down and a glass up later, we make tracks for the far end of the hall to work back on ourselves. 

I was in paradise. Even just on the walk to the other side of the hall I could see stalls that I was desperate to visit. Damn having work later is all that I could think as I looked at all the amazing ciders, beers, wines and spirits sitting there waiting to be sampled. In the end I decided that if I stopped drinking at 4pm and started sampling the free coffee instead, it should be ample time to sober up before making the journey to work.

We walk amongst the stalls; wines from all over Australia and all over the world, health foods, gluten free foods (which largely taste like shit regardless of it's standing at a 'good' food and wine show, by the way), organic meats, nuts, organic muesli, brittle, honey and more. I catch sight of the word 'cider' and I'm gone. As I approach the stall I realise that is infact Rekorderlig, a Swedish cider that happens to be one of my favourites. Although I'm rather proficient in the varieties of Rekorderlig I made sure I tried them all. That said, to my surprise I did find an apple and blackcurrant one that I hadn't tried which is to be released at the beginning of Summer under the title of Summer Berries. It's awesome, get on it.

Throughout the day I also tried a variety of other cider's including Sunshack, Napoleone & Co and more.

Also, even as not much of a wine drinker, I managed to find some incredible white wines. Speaking of wine, I stumbled across the De Bortoli wine stall. De Bortoli sponsor the Brisbane International Film Festival, and as such all the wines we serve at the variety of events we've hosted for BIFF have been from De Bortoli themselves. These include a Rococo Blancs de Blanc sparkling, a Sangiovese Merlot and a Pinot Grigio Vermentino. I got talking to the chap behind the stall and he will actually be attending the closing ceremony of the festival in a week's time, where I'll be working!

But it's an even smaller world than that. I'm walking through the stalls and my eye is caught by a rather familiar logo, that of Blue Sky Brewery - a brewery/bar up in Cairns where I spent a lot of time (and money) in my stay up there. During the NHL Stanley Cup, the Canadians, myself and other hockey lovers would descend upon the Blue Sky Brewery at 11am to watch the Vancouver Canucks take on the Boston Bruins with a couple of jugs of beer and some hot wings. I actually recognised the guys and girls working the stall. We sampled through the different beers that they brew on site in Cairns and eventually get on to one called FNQ which I'd yet to taste. Turns out, it won the title of Australia's Best Beer. A huge title for a relatively small and unknown brewery - which now ships it's produce to various liqour stores throughout Australia. Good to see them going up in the world! If you ever find yourself in Cairns, definitely get to the BSB. Incredible sports bar. And don't forget Taco Tuesdays ($2 Taco's or $5 for a Taco and a beer!) and Thursdays for 50c wings!

From here, we got on to sampling all the different oils. I love a good oil and most stalls did not disappoint. Olive oil, avacado oil, macadamia oil, almond oil and more. Thick, fruity oils both alone and infused with garlic, chilli, pepper, lemon and other beautiful flavours. There were also incredible vinegars, chutneys, condiments and chilli sauces. One particular chilli sauce stood out in particular - that of the Byron Bay Chilli Company. In my head I miconstrued Habenero for Jalepeno and in my ignorance nearly killed myself.

We also attended a Barilla pasta cooking seminar, where members of the crowd were invited up to cook and win prizes whilst the audience sampled and judged, not unlike a live version of Ready Steady Cook.

There were cocktail making classes, cheese experiences, wine tasting seminars, celebrity book signings, coffee barrista training, cupcake making and decorating and so much more to dig in to. By the time it came for me to leave for work I wasn't happy to do so!