 Somer Sivrioglu preparing to cook a Turkish storm at the Everleigh market Somer Sivrioglu is the happy proprietor of Efendy's, a great turkish restaurant in trendy Balmain in the Inner West of Sydney. I have visited quite early in the piece and have not been back recently, but it was a very happy and delicious experience. Hence why I was keen to revisit Somer's cuisine. Also, Somer has just released a book, three years in the making, called Anatolia, part travelogue, part recipes book and it is a phenomenal book, beautiful manufactured and designed by Murdoch.  Anatolia: Adventures in Turkish Cooking  Somer and Mr PorkStar at the SMH Growers Market the following week Barbara Sweeney had organised for Somer to perform at the Everleigh Market where she runs a regular stall called Talking Cookbook, where she gives free cooking advice to people visiting. Rumor has it that I might be invited along one of her next attendance and bring my own cookbooks... So, here we go, watching Somer preparing two of the dishes from his book  Barbara Sweeney introducing Somer  The attentive audience with some very young people there  One of the dishes that Somer is about to cook, taken from his book  As Jamie would say, just some olive oil...  Frying the chopped onions while chopping the greens  Adding the greens and mixing swiftly  Adding the eggs and let cook for a little while...   And in the meantime, let's get on with a nice salad...  Somer showing off his big tool...it is called a shun and is used to mince herbs and vegetables  And here in full swing mincing cherry tomatoes and Spanish onions  Add some herbs and start again  Et voilà  And then, we got a lesson on pomegranate preparation, and it involves bashing the poor thing!  I warned you...  Mix everything together, season, add olive oil and serve in a cute silver dish et le tour best joué  And don't forget the eggs, they are cooked now... It was a delight to watch and listen to Somer cooking his Turkish Deligths. I got a chance to taste everything and it was deliciously simple and earthy: the turkish version of cucina povera! Perfect!
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 Up early with a beautiful sunrise But first a little visit to the Everleigh Markets Remnants of the locomotive workshops at Everleigh  Looking for a rest and some shade...  Mobile knife sharpener  The Nutty Baker busy serving customers at Bird Cow Fish  The other Mr Garlic: Ken and Lilly Morgan from...Morganics Farm! Meetings with some remarkable women Tawnya Bahr (left), who I have known for a while, introduced me to Fabrizia Lanza, who is a Sicilian Chef, Food educator and owner of a 550ha organic estate near Palermo - Photo courtesy of Tawnya Bahr  I had a great chat with Barbara Sweeney who runs "Talking Cookbook" Stay tuned for more news!  Miriam McPherson from 2 Duck Trading, who runs a French Language School together with Martine Baboon and imports goodies like these beautiful baskets - le pander de la ménagère... Those formidable women will certainly be instrumental in helping us moving up on the world scene of food, organic farming, locavores and other ventures that this blogger is keen to involve himself with over the coming months...Stay tuned for more information about what we are trying to achieve and how you can come along for the ride. Prince Wine Store Sydney - Chateauneuf du Pape tasting As part of their aggressive marketing campaign for the opening of their Sydney store, Prince Wine Store had pout on a great line-up of six Chateauneuf-du-Pape all from 2012 and all quite heavy in alcohol at 15%...not for the faint hearted! I didn't even know my compatriots were engaging in that sort of behaviour... Anyway, I never had a chance before to taste so many of those wines in one go. Chest chose faith maintemant, mercy Jon! And I love Côtes du Rhône - Chateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas figure very high on my list of preferred wines, so it was a great opportunity to compare and forge myself an opinion of the great diversity of these different wineries. My preference went straight to the Domaine de la Charbonnière, followed by Clos du Mont Olivet and Font de Michelle Cuvee Etienne Gonnet, two wines that were so similar that I don't think i could have pick one out of the two on a blind tasting. I was not too keen on the newer style of Domaine La Barroche, call me old fashioned, but these wines didn't have the right signature for me. One other Chateauneuf not represented here is Domaine de la Janasse, one of my late Dad's (and mine as well...) favourites.  Domaine de La Janasse - my favourite Chateauneuf du Pape? NSW Food and Wine Festival - Sydney Cellar Door Sydney Cellar Door 2015 - Hyde Park - Sydney Almost 70 wineries were present at this event held in the beautiful Hyde Park in the centre of Sydney, where old meet new and centenaries trees provide shadow and comfort for the thousands of visitors on this sunny late summer afternoon in our beautiful city. The Hunter Valley, the Riverina, Orange and Mudgee, the Southern Highlands and the wider area around Canberra. Food was also well represented with Olive Oil, Oysters, Pizza, Honey, Asian food, burgers and the most exotic ingredient of all: saffron! Here some photos highlighting my preferred wineries and food outlets and some shots of the happy crowds, some quite inebriated by the time I got there, but on their best behaviour nevertheless and some very well dressed beautiful people to suit. Enjoy!  The beautiful setting of the Sydney Cellar Door Event  Cherry Tree Hill - Souther Highlands - I am a fan of their Riesling  Alex Retief makes wines in the style of Bordeaux where he trained  Tyrell Wines - one of the majors in the Hunter Valley  More from the Hunter and Centrepoint Tower in the background...  The Hunter Valley had the biggest contingent, as one of the longest established wine growing region.  Richard de Beaurepaire & his wife make French Style wines in Rylstone near Mudgee. We will visit them soon...  And when in Rylstone, we would also visit the best EVOO producers in the world...  And go see a saffron farm by Capertree Valley Saffron in Glen Davis  And the crowd is eager to try their saffron infused products with a bit of salt, like with tequila!  From Rylstone, we are stone throw to Mudgee, home of Robert Stein Wines, that we had a chance to taste at the Cobb & Co Hotel in Mudgee  We had the best lunch at di Lusso winery when we visited Mudgee a couple of years ago  Orange is a friendly competitor to Mudgee, both about four hour drive from Sydney  Bantry Grove from Orange  Bubbly from Orange - not quite Champagne but very drinkable indeed  Honey and herbs are the new game with rooftop beehives and balcony gardens poping up everywhere...  That's exactly what is on offer: Salt, meat (charcuterie) and cheese Italians do it better... My friends at Oysters Unplugged were very busy opening their molluscs for the crowds...  Philippino BBQ ay Hoy Pinoy creating a beautiful smoke and smell  EVOO from Pukara Estate  The old and the new cohabiting nicely in our beautiful Sydney SMH Pyrmont Growers Market - 04/10/2014 Ruby and Rach - the vintage sandwich makers Being the launch of Good Food Month in Sydney, and the theme being the BBQ, it was no surprise to find a number of stall holders bringing their own barbie and recipes to feed the masses... There were also a few newcomers as well as most of the regulars and the seasonals like Gilles Bonin with his fresh garlic. So here are a few photos to illustrate the event. Luckily the weather was clement!  World famous Reuben sandwich in the making  Christmas is around the corner and The Pudding Lady is back from Newcastle!  A regular - Stephane and gorgeous crew cooking home made chorizo - also from Newcastle  A new kid on the block: Hunter Valley Cheese  Gilles Bonin Garlic - all the way from Braidwood  It is early and Biota Dining have already ran out of supplies... Biota Dining and Cloudy Bay at the Everleigh Markets and a few others - 11/10/2014Well, when I heard that James Viles would bring some his crew to cook a storm at the Everleigh Markets, I had to get up early and get myself there in a hurry! I was not disappointed as I had a chance to taste again his fabulous mandarin sorbet, with a twist this time: peach sorbet and jelly and cryogenic roses and a glass of Sauvignon blanc from Cloudy Bay NZ, way before 10.00am... You can also read my review of the restaurant in Bowral here: http://www.ourfrenchimpressions.com/biota-dining.html The life of a food blogger requires a stainless steel lined stomach and a galvanised liver! A few people are returning regularly now like Oysters Unplugged and Pasta Emilia that I have not covered before. Music was provided in a better location than before by no other than cello master extraordinaire called Haydn (His mum was a piano teacher...). Again a few photos for your enjoyment!   Cooking a storm - the genie is let out of the (nitrogen - bottle!  The lovely Rachel "plating up" my peach, mandarin and roses ice cream  Come and smell the roses...  Or if you prefer, you could have the lamb sliders...  And do you want some fries with that lamb slider?  Donna does... seasonal chutneys and relishes  Willowbrae Cheese make goat cheese...and this gentleman sell goat meat - a winning combo!
 Haydn playing the cello Orange Grove Market - 11/10/2014 New range of patés at La Bastide and Mr Saucisson is hard at work selling his wares, with some charming help just off the boat from France! You can spot Andrew and Therese from Near River Produce in the background  New kids on the block - Jordan and Eliott from Transform Health, a new venture combining fitness program and nutrition to "health" you better. You can order your lunch box online every Thursday towards that goal. Everleigh Markets
Geoff has been a staple of food on television since 1992. He also runs a farm and cooking classes in Bowral. As we were talking about Bowral in our last post and reviewed Biota Dining not so long ago, I though it would be appropriate to talk about Geoff and his first appearance at the Everleigh Markets. He is a very affable person and we had a great chat. I also got a taste of his mushroom soup: delicious! But Geoff primarily makes preserves of chillies, tomato relish and capsicum jam and run cooking classes at the farm and is hoping to open a restaurant one day...In the meantime, he is preparing for a Culinary Tour in Morroco in November 2015 - click here for details and become a "gastronaute"! 
Cooking class at Geoff Jansz Farm - Bowral
Spice market in Marrakech
SMH Pyrmont Growers MarketThe stallholders population is quite stable at the SMH Growers Market in Pyrmont, so it is always a treat when we find some new people taking on the adventure of selling direct to the public. Effendy's Restaurant in Balmain is featuring a range of Turkish sauces and dishes to tempt you to visit their already very well attended restaurant. Pappardelle Pantry is a new venture of established restaurant Pappardelle, and proposes "authentic, organic and gluten free" Italian products online: Cook Italy, Eat Italy, Love Italy is their motto! 
Even with the pouring rain, the punters certainly enjoyed Effendi's food!
The Effendi's kitchen and the beautiful Turkish dishes it produces
Turkish Coffee anyone?
First appearance at the SMH Pyrmont Growers Market for Pappardelle Pantry
The table is set for a great night at Pappardelle Ristorante
And ready to serve scrumptious Italian Food! Pappardelle anyone?
GARLIC FROM MORGANICS FARM - ORANGE Morganics Farm Fresh Garlic from Orange Another fabulous addition to our collection of organic fresh garlic on top of Gilles in Braidwood and Near River Produce in the hinterland of Port Macquarie, already extensively featured here. Libby and Ken Morgan started growing garlic for their own needs 20 years ago. Libby and Ken Morgan started commercially about four years ago. It is mainly the purple variety that I personally prefers to the pearl variety as it tends to grow bigger bulbs and just looks better in the pantry! I believe it also tastes stronger, so definitely more for the real garlic (Gallic?...) lover!  Morganics Farm Garlic at the Markets SYO - Shuck your OWN - OYSTERS UNPLUGGED Sydney Rock Oyster shucked by me at home - courtesy of Oysters Unplugged - Merci beaucoup! Met Ben Ralston this morning, a young and enthusiastic oyster grower on the Clyde River, a few hundreds miles south of Sydney. Ben and his family have been at it for 140 years! and they produce a mean Sydney Rock Oyster. They have more recently embarked on a new journey to promote freshly shucked oysters in Sydney restaurants, and at your own function, event or party with their "mingling oyster shuckers" - I own the copyright on this one, Ben! - where waiters with a specially designed apron mingles through your guests and offer them to shuck an oyster for each of them under their bewildered eyes, season them - or not - with "embarked" vinaigrette and other condiments - squeeze of lime anyone? What a wonderful idea as an add-on to your regular caterer! And now, we will be able to buy unopened, untouched oysters from Oysters Unplugged every Saturday from the Everleigh Markets, rather than the tasteless varieties courtesy of the Sydney Fish Markets! A breath of fresh Melbourne air into the local food scene: enfin! Keep up the good work, Ben & Co!  The mighty Ben Ralston from Oysters Unpugged with "Portable Oyster Bar"  Ben Ralston and myself engrossed into a conversation about oysters and Fines de Claire  Et un petit Sancerre avec çà ...  Set in the old locomotive workshop, this market started three years ago and is open every Saturday morning from 8.00am to 1.00pm. And...I never got a chance to visit until today! Life has been quite full of (good...) surprises recently and that explains my seldom posting. But hopefully, I will get back in the writer's seat from now on and will be able to entertain you with new stories on a more regular basis. Although we have been blessed recently with very good weather in Sydney (after almost a year of rainy days...), it is a comfort to find the stalls of this market under shade, or shelter! Being a more regular affair than the Pyrmont Market, it is obviously a bonus to be set in a more confortable setting. About 70 stalls are sharing this awesome space, complete with old machinery, blacksmith workshop (run by my friends Wendy ang Guido of Wrought Artworks), rail tracks and the ubiquitous violinist! - a change from the guitarist who entertains the crowds in Pyrmont. Also, you can me Kylie Kwong our Aussie Chinese cook extraordinaire, actually cooking for you, delivering her famous dishes for a fraction of the cost in her Surry Hills restaurant. So, if you like fusion asian cuisine at its best, then rush to Everleigh! Obviously, my friends from Willowbrae Cheese are there from whom I got a St Albans and a Mt Bowen, as well as a couple of other cheese makers, one in particular, Binnorie Dairy, coming all the way from the Hunter Valley, better known for its fabulous wines than other produce. I bought half a brie for a dinner party tomorrow night from them. So, you will have to wait a little longer for a review. It looks creamy enough, but might have required a bit more time to mature: no chance of that this time around though... There are a number of organic fruit and veggies growers, plenty meat and charcuterie (bought a lovely chorizo from Eumindi Smokehouse...) and cakes and coffee (Toby's Estate, Bird Cow Fish...). I missed an interesting olive and olive oil suppliers, although I shared a table with the owner and his daughter, as I didn't realised until I came home and did some more research for this article. Alto Olives is set on a large property in the Grat Dividing Range and the grove counts 15000 trees and 13 varieties both for oil production and for the table. I will talk to them over my next visit. Another of my favourite product was there too in the form of raw honey, so raw in fact that some bits of the honeycomb are still in the honey. Mainly coming from ironbark trees flowers, it is quite mild in taste and really sweet. I bought a pot for my daughter (at least, this is my excuse..). Check it out at Nature's Gold Honey. |
 In Sydney - October 2019 AuthorBorn in France, well travelled, relocated to Sydney in 1997. Archives
October 2021
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