Organisers of Lismore’s Eat the Street festival are hoping to better the silver award won at the NSW Tourism Awards last year by including additional events and pop-up celebrations.
Lismore’s City Centre manager Jason Mumford said the festival had ‘hit a chord’ with locals and was already incredibly popular.
‘People in the northern rivers love food and we have so many new and exciting eateries, chefs and restauranteurs to celebrate. The sky’s the limit for Eat the Street,’ he said.
The first new event is a progressive dinner on Thursday, 8 March, taking in some of Lismore’s finest eateries. Visitors can stroll from restaurant to restaurant, enjoying drinks and exciting food creations at every location along the way. For details and tickets, visit www.eatthestreetlismore.com.au.
On Friday, 9 March, the council’s Tourism Services Coordinator, Andrew Walker, will host a Northern Rivers Food Tour. Interested foodies are invited on a culinary journey that will wind its way through the hills for the best food experiences the region has to offer.
The day will run from 9am to 4pm and tickets are available at www.eatthestreetlismore.com.au.
For those who simply want to attend the Eat the Street festival proper, there will be no shortage of interesting and delicious things to eat, see, do and listen to in the centre of Lismore on Saturday, 10 March.
As well as the usual assortment of food and beverage stalls, the popular Cooking Stage will return, where you see top chefs sharing their favourite recipes and cooking tips.
The headline chef this year is Luca Ciano, who inherited his passion for food and culinary exploration from his Italian nona back when he was eight years old.
Luca’s established career includes the famous two Michelin-starred restaurant Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia in Milan, as well as international roles at London’s Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Relais & Chateaux in Bermuda, and in Australia – his adopted homeland – at the Sheraton on the Park, The Westin in Sydney and Cypress Lakes Resort in the Hunter Valley.
An award-winning and widely celebrated chef, Luca has appeared on Channel 7’s The Morning Show, has released his own signature product range which includes handmade pasta sauces and olive oils, and has produced a best-selling cookbook, Luca’s Seasonal Journey.
Luca will be joined on stage by local chefs from some of the region’s most popular eateries including Jill Richardson from A Taste of the Bush and her daughter Claire Parry from Wattle Tree Creek, as well as chefs from Harvest, The Loft and Eltham Valley Pantry.
The Entertainment Stage is also bigger and better this year with a host of the finest regional entertainers on the bill including Moz Troniquz, the Cath Simes Band, Line Lockers and many more.
Organisers have also added kids’ cooking workshops for little foodies (bookings required) as well as smoothie bikes where people can pedal power their very own smoothie.
For more information or bookings, visit www.eatthestreetlismore.com.au.
