Bankstown Bites Food Festival is a food festival that takes place in the suburb of
Bankstown in
Sydney,
Australia.[1][2]
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.[1]
Local and celebrity
chefs conduct cooking demonstrations.[3] Chefs such as[4]Miguel Maestre,
Darren Simpson,
Ed Halmagyi[5] and
Iain Hewitson[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[7]
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.[9] The Bankstown Talent Advancement Program has local performers at the festival.[10]