Competition: Coles Gluten Free & Healthy Living Expo 2015
Posted by | Categories: Attractions, Events, Featured, Food and Wine Festivals, Perth
This year is my second year to be chosen as the official blogger for the Coles Gluten Free Food & Healthy Living Expo for Perth. For many individuals, the diagnosis of Coeliac Disease or gluten intolerance can be very overwhelming. Not only do you have to learn in detail what you can and cannot eat, but additionally you have to scrutinise every meal that you don’t prepare yourself for fear of it being cross contaminated with gluten. It only takes a tiny crumb of gluten to set off a Coeliac’s symptoms with simple things like shared toasters and cutting boards being common culprits.
Although I found sticking to an exclusively gluten free diet challenging at first, once I started to feel my health and energy levels return I realised that this diagnosis was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. My anaemia resolved, my skin rashes healed and my mind never felt more clear.
Master Chefs Michael Weldon and Courtney Roulston
Being strictly gluten free, it is a rare luxury to be able to attend a food expo where I can eat everything safely. This year Perth’s annual Gluten Free Food & Healthy Living Expo is held on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd of March 2015 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre and everything at the event is 100% gluten free.
The expo will be even bigger and better than last year with over 50 exhibitors including some new comers such as locally based Vintage Style Cakes & Cookies, Delish Ice and Solomon’s Café.
Rawsome’s Carawmel slice
There will be twelve seminars given over the two days and I am most looking forward to listening to Sue Shepherd. A Coeliac sufferer herself, Dr Shepherd is one of Australia’s leading expert dieticians. She will give two talks; “The FODMAP Diet” and “Coeliac Disease vs IBS: The Importance of the Correct Diagnosis”.
There will also be some lively cooking sessions from ex-Masterchef finalists Michael Weldon and Courtney Roulston who return to the Expo again this year. There will also be some cooking demonstrations with Laila Gampfer from Rawsome, Rick Grant and Latasha Menon from Latasha’s Kitchen.
For those who haven’t attended a Gluten Free Expo before, check out my top ten favourites post from last year’s Gluten Free Expo here.
For your chance to WIN a free double pass to the Coles Gluten Free Food & Healthy Living Expo plus a massive hamper filled with goodies from exhibitors at the show, share with us who your favourite exhibitor at the show will be and why in the comments section below. Good luck!
The lucky winner of this competition will receive:
- ● A double pass to the Gluten Free & Healthy Living Expo 2015
- ● Plus a hamper containing gifts from exhibitors at the show:
- ● Lupin Foods
- ● 2 x 480g bags of Lupin Flake
- ● Orgran
- ● 3 x Orgran Pasta packs
- ● Leda Nutrition
- ● 1 x Gojos, 1 x Choculence, 1 x Minton, 1 x Rumballs, 1 x Multipack – Strawberry, 1 x Multipack –TripleBerry, 1 x Multipack –Apple, 1 x Dunkies, 1 x Choc Chip 250g,1 x Arrowroot, 1 x Gingernut, 1 x Golden Crunch
- ● Loni’s Allergy Free
- ● 1 x Loni’s Allergy Free Cookbook
- ● Rawsome
- ● 2 x Carawmel Slice, 2 x Choc Mint Slice, 2 x Rawkus bites, 2 x Raffa Jaffa, 2 x Lovebite Slice
- ● Barilla
- ● 1x box of Barilla Gluten Free Penne, 1x box of Barilla Gluten Free Elbows, 1x box of Barilla Gluten Free Spaghetti, 1x jar of Arrabbiata sauce (gluten free)
- ● 1x Barilla vintage pasta tin, 1x Barilla apron
- ● Lupin Foods
Competition Terms and Conditions
Competition is open to all Chompchomp readers who have an Australian postal address. The winner will be chosen by myself and the Boy based on the most interesting and creative answer written in the comments section below. Entries close 5.00pm Wednesday 18th March 2015.
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED!
Coles Gluten Free Food & Healthy Living Expo
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 March, Perth Convention Centre, 21 Mounts Bay Rd, Perth | 9.30am-4pm
Pre purchase tickets: Adult $12+booking fee, Coeliac WA members $5 www.glutenfreeinwa.com.au
IGA Taste Great Southern Launch Party at The Terrace Hotel
Posted by | Categories: Featured, Food and Wine Festivals, Great Southern, Perth
The IGA Taste Great Southern festival is held every year in February through to March in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It is a celebration of all the wonderful food culture from this beautiful part of our State with over 70 individual events being held across the region.
Taste Great Southern is a food and wine festival with something to suit all types of foodies ranging from elaborate degustation dinners, beach BBQs, cooking demonstrations by famous chefs and farmers markets. There is even an Oyster Festival. Yes, an entire festival dedicated to oysters.
I recently attended the Perth launch for Taste Great Southern held at The Terrace Hotel. I was approached prior to the event with the job offer of being the official photographer for the night. The whole concept of being a paid photographer surprised me as I consider myself anything but a pro.
I arrived at the Terrace Hotel as early as possible to enable me to set up some shots before the guest arrived and to get a feel for the venue. Unfortunately, thanks to the sun my debut as a paid photographer was not an easy task. Lighting can be a photographer’s best friend or it can be their worst enemy and in this case light was no means my friend. From the beginning to the very end of the event, the sun bore down at blinding angles making the job of taking beautiful photos much more difficult than I had anticipated.
Amelia Park rare seared beef tenderloin, horseradish cream, beetroot purée
When the guests arrived, the hotel staff began to bring out a number of exquisite bite sized morsels made using fresh Great Southern produce.
Esperance scallops & prawn ceviche, citrus fruits, baby coriander, chilli
Don Hancey’s Linley Valley pork with rosemary and cracker pepper
As everyone started to fill up on the canapes, Chefs Pete Manifis, Don Hancey and Kenny McHardy began to cook up a storm.
Peter Manifis, InContro
Peter Manifis’s Esperance scallops with apples and lychee
Whilst I enjoyed being a professional for one night, I have realised that I still have a lot to learn and by the end of the job I was thoroughly exhausted. Unlike all attending guests including the Boy, I didn’t have much of a chance to eat over as I was too busy running about trying to get the best shots.
Kenny McHardy from Due South in Albany makes all his own flour using his own mill.
The Boy suggested we go and sit inside in The Terrace’s restaurant and share something more substantial before heading home. Famished and weary it was an offer I could hardly refuse. The hotel staff were very accommodating with my dietary requirement guiding me through a number of options suitable off their menu. As I looked around the dimly lit restaurant I chuckled to myself, I had gone from one photography nightmare to another. First too much bright light, and now nearly none at all!
Coffin Bay oysters ($3.50 each)
We haven’t eaten any oysters that can even remotely compare to the amazing ones we ate on our travels last month to Tasmania. In fact the last batch I bought hoe for us to eat were very close to being putrid. Nevertheless we decided to take a punt and order half a dozen. Thankfully, these were deliciously slurpalicious and fresh.
Scallops, blood orange and baby carrot purée, grapefruit beurre blanc ($19, GF)
Neither of us felt like a full main course so we shared a plate of seared scallops served with blood orange and baby carrot purée and grapefruit beurre blanc.
Black Angus sashimi, pickled daikon radish, ponzu dressing, wasabi mayonnaise, kale crisps ($19, GF)
We also ordered the Black Angus sashimi was served with pickled daikon radish, ponzu dressing, wasabi mayonnaise and kale crisps. The meat was slightly sweet and tender and melted on contact with my tongue.
Passionfruit parfait, strawberries and meringue ($15, GFO)
For dessert we shared the passionfruit parfait with strawberries and meringue. The parfait was a bit icy in texture and lacked any of the creaminess that a parfait should have. Whilst I did enjoyed the tang of the passionfruit I would have preferred the parfait to have a smoother consistency.
The Taste Great Southern food and wine festival runs from the 19th of February until the 29th of March this year across the Great Southern Region. There is a comprehensive event list available on their website.
Disclaimer: Chompchomp was an invited guest of the Taste Great Southern launch and was paid to take the photographs for the night.
The Terrace Hotel
237 St Georges Tce, Perth WA 6000 | (08) 9214 4444 | www.terracehotelperth.com.au
For my previous posts on Chompchomp of The Terrace Hotel, head to the Pemberton Finger Limes tasting night, Billy Law’s photography workshop and my roving lunch at Eat Drink Perth last year.
