Savour Sydney’s diverse flavours beyond the inner city’s many excellent restaurants. Harness traditional knowledge on an Aboriginal guided tour in an unexpected location, go behind the scenes in Sydney’s culturally rich suburbs, and be amazed by the city’s edible landscape on a foraging tour — to name but a few enriching excursions worth sampling.
Find bush tucker on an Aboriginal-guided tour
Discover how the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, Sydney’s Traditional Custodians, have harvested the natural bounty of Sydney for tens of thousands of years on an Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour at the harbourside Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Breathe in the fragrant scent of native lemon myrtle — which can be used to make a delicious tea — as you learn how flowering wattles indicate when it’s eel season. Visit an ancient red gum used in Aboriginal initiation ceremonies, taste seasonal bush foods, and be awed by the many ways that plants in the garden are used by First Nations peoples across Australia
Tuck into Sydney’s multicultural food story
Understand the many global cultures and cuisines that have influenced Sydney’s vibrant culinary scene on a guided food tour. Taste how recipes brought from China, Malaysia and Korea are elevated with Australian produce on an excursion to Chinatown, bordering the city centre, with Taste Cultural Food Tours Inc. Or hear the fascinating stories behind the recipes that have travelled all the way from Afghanistan and Syria to the kitchens of Merrylands in the western suburbs.
Sample more of Sydney’s multicultural food highlights with Gourmet Safaris, created by food journalist and broadcaster Maeve O’Meara OAM. Fuel up for the day in western Sydney’s Harris Park, also known as Sydney’s Little India, where you can try a traditional Indian breakfast. You can also meet local producers in Marrickville in the Inner West, or unleash your appetite on a gourmet Italian food tour of nearby Haberfield.
Pair a love of food with an interest in street art on a Newtown Chewtown tour in Newtown with Local Sauce Tours. Get a fun-filled taste of ‘Aussie food’ on a relaxed walk around three central Sydney suburbs, or sink your teeth into Sydney’s own Little Italy in Five Dock, also in Sydney’s Inner West.
Purchase fresh produce from the source
Learn the stories behind your food when you buy it directly from farmers and producers at Sydney’s farmers markets. On Saturday, make your way to Carriageworks Farmers Markets in inner-west Eveleigh. Fill your shopping basket with everything from artisan breads to single-origin coffee, gourmet meats to freshly-cut flowers as you explore the market with all your senses.
Treat yourself to organic goodies, from homemade jams to freshly harvested seasonal fruit, at the Kings Cross Market in Potts Point’s Fitzroy Gardens, also held on Saturdays. Or head across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge to browse the offerings of more than 70 stallholders from Sydney and regional NSW at the Northside Produce Market, which pops up in North Sydney’s Ted Mack Civic Park every first and third Saturday morning of the month.
Go foraging with an expert
Feel empowered to forage for your own wild food on a tour with respected forager and author Diego Bonetto, who learned how to seek out wild edible ingredients growing up on an Italian dairy farm. Now, he leads foraging tours in and around Sydney. Whether you join a workshop that takes place in Centennial Parklands, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, or the Blue Mountains, a 90-minute drive west of the city, he’ll show you the edible riches that can be found underfoot, from warrigal greens to chickweed. Or feel the sand between your toes on a walk on Clovelly Beach in Sydney’s east with Bonetto and his collaborator Oliver Brown to learn how to identify and harvest edible sea plants found along the coastline.
Enjoy an urban farm experience
Be inspired by the sustainability ethos of Pocket City Farms, which grows organic produce right in the heart of Sydney’s inner west at Camperdown Commons, near Newtown. Sign up for an urban farm tour to learn more about permaculture techniques and how regenerative agriculture can improve the natural environment, tackle food insecurity and take action on climate change.
Reel in your own fish dinner
Revel in feasting on fresh Sydney seafood caught with your very own hands on a thrilling fishing charter with the likes of Off the Map, based in Pittwater in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Whether you prefer deep-sea or estuary fishing, you’ll be taken to the best angling grounds around Sydney for a half- or full-day fishing adventure.
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