According to Festival Director Remy Tancred, this year’s Sample Food Festival is promising to be one of the most exciting and entertaining yet. Bangalow is once more playing host to the largest gastronomic gathering in the Byron Shire’s calendar, and it’s all on today…

The 2015 festival welcomes celebrity guest chefs Adriano Zumbo (Zumbo), Luke Hines (The Paleo Way) Clayton Donovan (Jaaning Tree, Nambucca Heads) James Viles (Biota Dining, Bowral) and Steven Snow (Fins, Kingscliff).

The day starts from 8am with fresh food offerings at the Farmer’s Market and then evolves into a feast of food.  Thirty of the region’s best restaurants will offer a $5 and $10 tasting plate which will keep you full all day. . In between plates, wander the marketplace and chat to local producers and designers about their wares. With over 200 exhibitors, there’s plenty of  products, gifts and homewares to discover.

Cooking demonstrations will be abundant from early morning at the highly regarded Northern Rivers Food cooking stage. Kicking off at 8:15am is trainer, celebrity and promoter of healthy living, Luke Hines and his MKR buddy Dan Mulhern. Luke and Dan will demonstrate their favourite breakfast recipes, using produce from the Byron Farmer’s Market. Providing further entertainment is the competitive TAFE NSW North Coast cooking.

Adriano Zumbo of ‘Zumbo’  – famous for his croquembouche towers

Keeping the children entertained is easy at the festival. The well-known Macadamia Castle will bring a host of baby animals for the little ones to pet and feed. And new to the festival this year is the creative cabin This Old Duck, featuring hands-on, imaginative craft ideas. And in the afternoon, keep an eye out for the ever-vibrant Shorty Brown who will wander the arena, making balloons come to life.

To help cleanse the palate over the day, the award winning local brewery Stone & Wood will offer a range of beers, alongside delectable wines from Cloudy Bay and effervescent Moet and Chandon. There will also be plenty of non-alcoholic beverages including Madura Tea, Mount Warning Spring Water and the new Organic Drink Co.

The festival offers visitors the chance to relax, take a plate and a drink, settle on the grass and enjoy the atmosphere, tastes and sounds of the event. Soak up the vibe from midday at the SAE Byron Bay Music stage, where local, professional artists will play a variety of genres including blues and roots, jazz and contemporary tunes. Prior to this, students from the local Mullumbimby High School will entertain guests with their emerging talents. Sample is also thrilled to have former guitarist and songwriter of Powderfinger, Darren Middleton, closing the festival with his acoustic charm from 3pm.

Tickets are $5 per person and children are free. Come and indulge your senses in this culinary, stunningly decadent event on Saturday September 5 from 8am until 4pm. www.samplensw.com

HIGHLIGHTS

Sample Food Festival is the premier food and lifestyle festival for Northern NSW.  The Festival is held in the village of Bangalow, Byron Bay Shire, and is supported by 200 exhibitors comprising local chefs, producers, growers and artisans. Their impressive flavours and bold creative flair attract over 15,000 visitors annually. With the great food comes live music as well as celebrity cooking demonstrations and other evnts. Guests include Adriano Zumbo, James Viles of two-hatted restaurant Biota Dining and musician Darren Middleton (formally from Powderfinger). Saturday September 5th from 8am – 4pm at the Bangalow Showgrounds.

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The lunch, which features a five-course menu featuring bush and sea elements and includeind a native cocktail on arrival was an idea created by Pam Brook of Brookfarm. “Both chefs have been championing local producers for well over a decade,” said Pam Brook. ‘They’ve been great role models in the local food movement as well as leading the way with their award-wining sustainable methods.”

Clayton Donovan is Australia’s only indigenous hatted chef. He grew up on Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung land on the mid north coast of New South Wales and started learning about native produce when he was four years old out walking with his Aunties and grandmothers, taking what they found in the bush or along the coastline and cooking it up at their homes. “Without me even realising it, it was the start of a lifelong love of Wild Food,” says Donovan.

Steven Snow has retained his Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide one hat for the past nineteen years. The lunch, hosted at Fins, Salt Village, South Kingscliff, will be a dining experience not to be missed.

“I learned the different techniques, flavours and ideas – now I combine that with what I consider to be the best produce I’ve seen in the world, right here on the north coast, to create something that is interesting and local, yet with its soul intact.” – Steven Snow.

Wild Food Flavours with Steven Snow and Clayton Donovan is a lunch not to be missed. Photo: Kirra Pendergast.

Steven Snow – chef, author and TV personality

Renowned as a dining destination, the Fins philosophy has always centered around a commitment to organic produce and the very best local, line caught fish and seafood.

Since 1996 Fins has continued, year after year, to achieve the coveted ‘Chef’s Hat’ award.

Fins owner and celebrity chef Steven Snow this year celebrated his proudest achievment to date by winning the ‘Most Sustainable Seafood Restaurant 2015’ in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide.

Clayton Donovan – chef and TV personality

Clayton Donovan grew up on Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung land on the north coast of New South Wales. He started learning about native produce when he was four years old out walking with his Aunties and grandmothers, taking what they found in the bush or along the coastline and cooking it up at their homes.

These days Clayton’s focus is pop up restaurants and he regularly has guest chef cooking demonstration appearances at trade shows and events all over Australia.

Seating is limited so book early to avoid disappointment. $89 per person. [email protected]

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