By now you have probably heard the hype – a two day cheese festival in Sydney. Over half a ton of cheese was shipped down under, by The French Centre National Interprofessionel de l’Economie Laitière (that’s the National Industry Association for Dairy to you and me). With help from the European Union, they have teamed up with Carriageworks to put on this incredible free event.
When my plus one and I were offered the chance to take part in Bon Fromage’s soft opening evening, we could camembert-ly contain our excitement. We hastily accepted the offer.
On the Friday evening, the night before the festival began and the doors were to open to the rest of Sydney, we made our way down to Carriageworks to get involved in the cheese action. When we arrived we couldn’t brie-lieve our eyes. This was no half ditch attempt at a cheese event. The wine was flowing, the cheese was abundant, spread out over one whole side of the expansive venue. There was even a live string band, playing old French songs – the ambience was perfect.
Sitting side by side with fellow cheese lovers at long communal benches, it felt like provincial France meeting Sydney’s Inner West. The genuine love and appreciation for cheese was evident, and coupled well with an edgy warehouse style venue.
Along with some new friends made at the table, we ate our way through more cheeses than I knew existed, and shared wine and bread a plenty. Despite the incredible spread we did have one complaint – we were full to bursting much sooner than we would have liked!
Over the weekend, Bon Fromage would see thousands of cheese aficionados flock to Carriageworks for everything cheese related – workshops on wine matching, talks by cheese experts, cheese tastings a plenty, and the opportunity to buy your favourite cheeses.
– Elli
Elli de Ryckman de Betz shares many qualities with cheese. Just like cheese, she gets sharper with age. She’s also at her best at the end of a meal and when paired with a carefully selected wine.
While Bon Fromage was a one-off event (as far as we know) Carriageworks continually host a number of foodie events in their gorgeous spaces and are best known for their weekly farmers markets – definitely worth being on the radar of every food lover.
