Sweet Eats: Snacks...& more snacks

Last Friday, Tiff & I took the day off to take our Mums to the annual Good Food & Wine Show at Darling Harbour. It was part of our Mother's Day present to them and it had been a couple of years since we had been, so we were really looking forward to seeing what was on offer!

The show basically gathers food and wine companies under one roof to showcase their products and gives the public an opportunity to try them and buy them on the spot. There's no need to have lunch here with so many goodies to sample....chocolate, jams, teas, dips, olive oils, spices, nougat, biscuits, dried fruits, soups, curries, cheeses...the list goes on. There were even kitchenware suppliers & our Mums got sucked in by that bastion of home demo parties...Tupperware. We particularly enjoyed the big Italian stand that sold coffee, pastas, antipasti and the most divine balsamic vinegar (which I later bought):

There was also a chance to check out Aussie celebrity chefs in the Celebrity Theatre & we had booked in to see Australia's answer to Martha Stewart....Donna Hay. Her cooking demonstration consisted of four simple ten-minute dinners. There was a bit of humour thrown in & the audience got to ask questions...here she is in action:

I think my Mum was quite impressed cos afterwards we proceeded to the Donna Hay stand where she bought a great value sample bag including a cookbook of these quick dinners. Mind you, none of us left empty-handed - Tiff & I stocked up on the latest Donna Hay Kids issue & some back issues (half the price of buying them on-line). At the Le Cordon Bleu stand (known for its international cooking school), I bought a fantastic Desserts cookbook with detailed step-by-step instructions on dessert techniques. Here is my bounty from the day including coffee, nougat, dukkah, honey and salmon jerky (!?):

There were so many great value deals at the stands...but our bags were so laden with food and magazines we really had to think twice about making purchases cos we'd have to carry them! My mum said next time she will bring a little wheelie-trolley. Then again, maybe it's a good thing to only buy what you can carry...otherwise we'd be out of pocket plenty more! Our stomachs were so full & our bodies exhausted that we didn't even venture to do any wine-tasting. Who knew that snacking could be such hard work! N