Food news: stretchy pants & fancy plants

11th June 2021 | Eativity editors
Food news

As Australia’s vaccine rollout charges its way across the nation at the speed of a soporific tortoise, many events that had to cancel last year are now free to get things rolling again. They’re welcoming back the eager punters who’ve emerged, bleary-eyed, from their 18-month Netflix binge. As part of this, over the next few weeks, food-loving Sydneysiders are in for a treat. Two treats, to be precise. A popular food festival will be returning after a COVID-induced hiatus and a new foodie market will be launching itself onto Sydney Saturday nights. We’re getting our extra-stretchy pants all pressed and ready to go.

In other food news, researchers have discovered what’s really going on inside the minds of people who throw away food. And it’s not as nefarious as you might think. Plus, a new pudding range has been released to offer flexitarians a guilt-free indulgence that won’t require any extra-stretchy pants. It also does a bit of good by the planet.

Food news: Bastille Festival
Need some ooh-la-la in your life? Sydney’s the place to be this July.

The French are coming!

This July, the Bastille Festival will be returning to Sydney’s Circular Quay. It promises five whole blissful blue, white and red days of the best French food and wine. It’s less a festival and more a feastival. So prepare yourself for a cheese and Bordeaux orgy.

The Bastille Festival is a French cultural celebration, and this year it will feature 70 pop-up food and wine bars that will take you on a tour France’s most famous gastronomic and oenophilic regions. All without you having to leave the festival grounds. The melted raclette stand is where you’ll find us, but you can also wallow in the delights of flammekueche. This is kind of like a cross between a savoury tart and a pizza. Just don’t ask us to pronounce it. There’s also sweet and savoury crepes, profiteroles, macarons et beaucoup plus!

You can match your culinary carousing with tipple from France’s best wine regions. Just grab a wine-tasting passport and rendezvous at one of the five bars to begin your journey. To find out more, or to book for the wine-tasting tour, head to bastillefestival.com.au

Food news: the ethics of food waste
“Look at all this food we didn’t need to eat.”

The ethics of food waste

Aussie households throw away more than 2.5 million tonnes of edible food each year. Now, new research from James Cook University has found we’re more worried about having full fridges than wasting food. The study found that people’s desire to feel like they’re providing for their family is stronger than the guilt of tossing tonnes of tucker in the bin.

“Cultural and moral norms reflect the idea that we behave in a certain way because we believe it’s the right thing to do,” says study author Dr Pengji Wang. “Australians use the moral norm of being a good provider to justify over-provision and subsequent food waste.”

These moral norms are influenced by cultural, institutional and socio-economic structures. According to Dr Wang, understanding this is key to changing our behaviour.

Campaigns designed to stop food waste need to promote ways that make people feel like they’re still providing for their families. The researchers suggest that this could include highlighting the importance of healthy eating and buying higher-quality food in smaller quantities. The impact of wasted food on a family’s future – both economic and environmental – might also tweak people’s conscience.

Sydney’s newest foodie market: Wentworth Park Foodies Market
There’s food, and then there’s foooooood.

Sydney’s newest foodie market

Wentworth Park Foodies Market will be launching this June. The market will feature 20 carefully-selected food vendors to showcase Sydney’s diverse cultural flavours that organisers hope to bring to Wentworth Park on a regular basis. The open-air night market will be free to enter, and will also offer free kids’ entertainment and amazing city views against the backdrop of the beautiful Wentworth Park. Food stalls will include:

Jeery’s Tacos: inspired by his love of food, Jeery creates seasonal, fresh and tasty tacos and serves them on his own house made roti canai (Indian flatbread).

The Bald Chef: a master of the charcoal BBQ, the Bald Chef will be serving delicious chicken wings with all produce locally sourced and made in-house.

Norma’s Burger Bar: boasting a mouth-watering menu of smashed burgers, rolls and fries, Norma’s Burger Bar has built up a cult-like following.

Mrs Wang’s Dumplings: Mrs Wang’s exceptional homemade dumplings come in a variety of flavours. Our hot tip: enjoy your dumplings with some of their homemade chilli oil.

Lenny’s Briskets: a food truck providing a New York City-style deli experience right here in Sydney, Lenny’s will be serving up some of the most lip-smacking sambos you’ve ever eaten.

Wentworth Park Foodie Markets will be held on Saturday, June 26 from 4pm-9:30pm at Wentworth Park Sporting Complex, Wentworth Park Rd, Glebe, Sydney.

Food news: Fancy Plants launches
Fancy meeting you here: new plant-based pudding treats await.

They’re a little bit fancy

According to market research firm Euromonitor, 45 percent of Australians have now embraced a flexitarian or plant-based lifestyle. And many are doing so to reduce their carbon footprint. To cater to this growing group of eco-conscious consumers, Fancy Plants has launched a new plant-based pudding range that offers a snacking or dessert alternative with a rich, full-bodied mouthfeel that also comes with added nutritional benefits.

Silky Pot is a plant-based chocolate pudding named after its smooth-as-silk texture. Every pot contains a source of prebiotic fibre to help support digestive health. Chia Pod is an on-the-go version of the popular cafe treat, chia pudding. It comes in chocolate and vanilla flavours and contains omega-3s, fibre and calcium. Rice Pud is a plant-based twist on the classic rice pudding. It comes with the added nutritional benefits of fibre and calcium.

Fancy Plants also partners with global organisation 1% for the Planet, which sees one percent of product sales going back to people and the planet through the work of high-impact, not-for-profit social and environmental groups. You can find Fancy Plants at Coles, Woolies and independent supermarkets. For more info, head to fancyplants.com/au.

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