10 strategies to help you survive Taste of Perth 2014

Consumers are notoriously bad when it comes to having too much choice, they tend to oscillate between grabbing one of everything, or standing motionless like a deer in headlights. So how will we cope now that a city of pop up restaurants has sprung up on Langley Park for the weekend? We need a strategy or ten …

Taste of Perth 2014 Chefs thanks to Jessica Wyld

Dubbed the World’s greatest food festivals, Taste Festivals have been held in 18 cities including London, Milan, Dubai, Amsterdam and now Perth. Held over three days the pop up city includes top restaurants like Nobu, Silks, Print Hall, el Publico and Bistro Gillaume to name a few (see links below).

So how to cope …?



1. Queue Mindset

Get into the ‘crowd’ mindset before you arrive. If you go expecting to be amongst a crowd you’ll have a much better time. To help avoid the queues, buy your tickets in advance and if you can afford it punt for a VIP pass which gives you fast track entry.

2. Restaurant Mindset

Usually when you go to a festival you can saunter in whenever you like, but this isn’t a normal festival it runs like a restaurant.

You wouldn’t just wander into a first class restaurant and expect to be seated. Same goes here; the day is split into two sessions lunch and dinner, so arrive early to make the most of your four hour session.

3.Preparation and Planning

As with most things in life, preparation and planning are key. I don’t know about you but for me fine dining is ‘a sometimes’ food and generally speaking I can afford a main and dessert or sometimes entrée and dessert. The Taste Festival provides a unique chance to sample offerings from several restaurants. So rather than fill up on an apple just in case the meal is tiny, I recommend skipping breakfast. Actually probably best to skip, lunch and dinner the day before too.

The organisers tell me that when you arrive you should use your Menu Card to decide what you want to try and if you are eyeing off an ‘icon’ dish, you’ll need to get in quick. Some examples are: Print Hall’s smoked ocean trout; Nobu’s Pork Belly Spicy Miso Caramel; el Publico’s fried crickets and artisan mescal or Bib and Tucker’s Charcoal roasted Fremantle Octopus.

4.Maintain an open mind

Sure you might be able to make a great Spag Bol or know the importance of the correct food to sauce ratio, thanks to hours spent watching MasterChef, but remember you’re not an expert. Seriously, even the top chef’s preparing the food for you are still learning. Do your friends and family a favour and get in early to reserve a spot at one of the four interactive demonstrations held during each session.

I must admit that when I first read about the ‘interactive sessions’ I did ponder … whipped cream and jelly wrestling sprang to mind for some reason. Thankfully this is not the case. Instead the chefs will be whipping up concoctions and handing them over to a live judging panel that includes the likes of River Cottages Australia’s Paul West (as seen on Foxtel’s The Lifestyle Channel). Alternatively you could attend the Lurpak Cookery School with Julia Taylor from MasterChef or ‘how to’ sessions at Brookfield Place Table Talks. The talks focus on; rum, champagne, sake and gin masterclasses, The Art of Oyster Shucking, wine matching and how to make the best punch for parties. You mean there’s more to punch than juice, soda water, vodka and a few rounds of oranges?

5.Pace yourself and recharge

All good parties are improved by a momentary time out. The Virgin Mobile Beats and Seats area provides deck chairs, picnic blankets and non-stop entertainment. Included are London based funk outfit Randa And The Soul Kingdom, who played at the London festival. If you’ve taken too many selfies you can recharge your phone at Virgin Mobile mobile charge bars.

6.Don’t drink and text

By all means try the local and imported beers at the Beer hall while listening to the brewers free master classes. Visit the custom built cider house the Beautifully Swedish Rekorderlig Star or Sensology for the Art of Cocktail Making, where you can learn how to make iconic cocktails. Maybe indulge in the finest vintage and non-vintage champagnes from Piper Heidsieck at the Piper Champagne Bar by The Heritage. Heck, try all three but if you value your friends mental health please count to ten before pressing send I beg you.

7.Go chef’s spotting

Go chef spotting, sidle up to them and express your undying appreciation if you must, but remember one thing. They’re only a quick sideways motion away from a set of very sharp steak knives, should the cocktail tasting session have you imparting suggestions on how their dishes could be improved. The Who’s Who of chefs includes; Shane Osborn, Guillaume Brahimi, Paul West, Matt Stone, Shane Watson, Joel Valvasori-Pereza, Leif Huru, Pat Cheong, Dominik Moldenhauer, Sam Ward, Hadleigh Troy, Alain Fabregues, David Whitting, Kiren Mainwaring, Scott Bridger and Tom Randolph.

8.Dare to cross the line

There’s always a point at an event when I look longingly at the beautiful people in the restricted area. If you must cross the line to it gracefully, pamper yourself with a VIP pass that gets you access into the exclusive Citron VIP Lounge plus $30 worth of crowns, and two complimentary drinks.

9.Delusions of culinary grandeur

Having tasted so many beautiful treats you may be tempted to buy items from the artisan producers to take home and replicate what you’ve seen. This is fine but make sure you have a stiff drink or block of 80% dark chocolate nearby when your multiple attempts highlight the years of training that’s gone into creating the dish.

10.Recovery

Make a booking with Michelle Bridges for Monday morning and definitely not the Commander until you lose at least one of the spare tyres you’ve acquired over the three days of indulgence.