Bankstown Bites Food Festival is a food festival that takes place in the suburb of Bankstown in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Parliament of New South Wales: The Hon. Helen Westwood, 5.26 p.m.: Bankstown Bites Festival , 10 September 2009, Accessed 17 October 2013
Festival Started in 2005 by the Bankstown City Council, the event is held annually in July and includes cooking demonstrations, live performances, tours of local food outlets, activities for the kids and food stalls. An estimated 10,000 people attend each year.
Local and celebrity chefs conduct cooking demonstrations. Chefs such as Miguel Maestre, Darren Simpson, Ed HalmagyiFast Ed: We had a great time at the Bankstown Bites festival, Accessed 17 October 2013 and Iain HewitsonFood Herald: Bankstown Bites Food Festival, 16 July 2007, Accessed 20 October 2013 have all been a part of the event. Local chefs including Antonios Chayna, from Platform 1, and Robert Green, Bel Cibo, have also been a part of Bites to promote local cuisine. Both local and celebrity chefs contribute to the annual Bankstown Bites Food Festival Recipe Book.
Discovery Food Tours take place during the festival, which are themed tours. Themes include Asian Explorer, European Delights, Aboriginal bush tucker food and Treats from the Middle East.The Sydney Morning Herald: Best taste tests in the west 29 July 2009, Accessed 17 October 2013The Daily Telegraph: Book your favourite food tour for Bankstown Bites, Accessed 20 October 2013 The range of food at the festival includes Lebanese pizza, Indian sweets, African staples, Vietnamese pho, Balkan sausages, Greek cakes, Filipino groceries, Chinese teas and halal butchers.
The festival also has activities like cooking classes, sustainability displays and food craft, rides and puppet shows for kids. The festival also featured art exhibitions, a poetry slam performance and fruit hat and sculpture making.The Daily Telegraph: Bankstown Bites 2013 food festival delivers plenty of top treats 8 July 2013, Accessed 17 October 2013 The Bankstown Talent Advancement Program has local performers at the festival.
There was no festival in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
Celebrity chefs
2006 – Vince Sorrenti 2007 – Iain Hewitson 2008 – Fast Ed (Ed Halmagyi) 2009 – Fast Ed (Ed Halmagyi) 2010 – Miguel Maestre 2011 – Darren Simpson 2012 – Justine SchofieldAustralian Broadcasting Corporation, June Cowle (Producer, Weekends), Chef's Challenge – Justine Schofield 14 July 2012, Accessed 20 October 2013 2013 – Marion Grasby 2014 - Fast Ed (Ed Halmagyi) 2015 - Adam Liaw 2016 - Ben O'Donoghue 2017 - Darren Robertson 2018 - Colin Fassnidge 2019 - Matt Sinclair 2020 – NONE 2021 – NONE 2022 – Adrian Richardson and Alvin Quah 2023 – Diana Chan and Arrnott Olssen 2024 – Anna Polyviou
References
External links City of Canterbury Bankstown, Bankstown Bites Food Festival page