Sydney, Australia - Marvelous Markets, Fabulous Food

I visit Sydney several times a year and always love exploring to find new places.

When it comes to eating out, Sydney will spoil you with choice.  Cafes line suburban and inner city streets, cheap and cheerful bistros jostle for space alongside their more sophisticated fine-dining cousins.  

I have seen in the last few years, more ethic markets and restaurants opening as new immigrants move to the land down under. Add to this inventive chefs and award winning winemakers and it’s easy to see why the city is rapidly becoming one of the world’s great “foodie havens.”

What better place to start your discovery than in the city’s major produce markets, the aptly named Sydney Markets in the suburb of Flemington, just ten miles from the city centre? These markets have their roots in the earliest days of European settlement in Australia. At that time, a few rag-tag stalls would spring up on the wharves whenever there was food available. Choice was limited and it wasn’t always very fresh. 

Today, it's very different. Sydney’s produce, flower and growers markets are among the largest in the southern  hemisphere and operate seven days a week. The produce is offered by the 20,000 local and interstate growers who use the markets for quality and freshness.

An early morning guided tour is the best way to experience Flemington markets. During the 90-minute tour you will meet growers, pick up useful tips and best of all, taste a wide selection of fresh produce.

A place I love going to is the Sydney Fish Market at Pyrmont. With over 100 species of fish auctioned here every day, it is second only to Japan for variety. The tour starts at 7:00 a.m. with a visit to the auction room. To be successful, bidders must have sharp eyes and quick reflexes as two sales take place simultaneously and each may last no longer than a few seconds.

You can join a Food Workshop, which combines the visit to a produce market then you have the thrill of cooking what you find in the market for a hands-on cooking class. Workshops start at Northside Growers Market just a few miles from the city centre and is easily reached by public transport.  

Your guide is a passionate cook and author. You might sample Australian olive oil scented with bush herbs, organic sourdough bread fresh from the oven just a few hours ago, crisp apples from the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, creamy goats cheese, venison sausage straight from the grill or even a little Pooh’s Goo, known to those who love it as the world’s most addictive honey.

In addition to the markets, Sydney is also blessed with distinctive food villages which have grown up naturally around people of different nationalities who have migrated to Australia and settled in the city’s suburbs.  This is lucky for locals and visitors alike, as these newcomers arrived from countries such as Italy, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece and Vietnam.

A fun time can be had and even the men enjoy it.

Maureen Jones

Maureen Jones is president of All Horizons Travel at 160 Main Street in Los Altos. Members of her staff are experts in business travel, cruises, and all types of leisure.