Food & Words, food writers’ festival
The Mint, Sydney
The inaugural Food & Words was held on October 13 and it was a fantastic day. The idea was to bring the crema of the Australian food writing community together for a day of lively discussion and debate. It wasn’t quite that. It was more intimate and collegiate than discussion and debate suggest. It was a day of creativity and ideas and fun and inspiration.
A day after the event I received a handwritten card in the post from a lovely young food writer who says it “was refreshing to be surrounded by so many people who fervently believe in food writing.”
Highlight of the day for me was Gay Bilson saying that the food pages in our newspapers weren’t food pages, rather cookery pages. She’s right. Where are the big stories of the food world being tackled?
Here’s some of what the audience enjoyed:
“Loved it all — venue, styling, range of speakers and topics.”
“The speakers were engaging, informative, inspiring and diverse.”
“The variety of speakers and subjects. Every detail was well organised and thoughtful. Great food too.”
“The picnic lunch, venue and the attention of staff and volunteers.”
“It was more that I could have imagined.”
“Random, varied, inspiring, exciting.”
“The play, softness and content, bouncing from one speaker to the next.”
“I knew it would be interesting — and it was.”
“The idea of entertaining people with informative, intelligent and pleasant discussion while providing tasty treats. That’s what I enjoyed.”
“It was a perfect little event.”
“The exchange of ideas, inspirational talks, the variety and personality.”
“The fun vibe.”
“The celebration of the earth.”
“Heartwarming connection with people who love food.”
“I loved John Newton and the food breaks.”
“Fascinating to hear chefs talking about things other than recipes.”
“All the different aspects: the poetic, the historic, the political, the literary.”
Read about the 2012 guest speakers
Food & Words 2013
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