Rootstock Sydney 2014
What did you do last weekend? Chances are, you were at Rootstock Sydney, where a total of 13,531 people celebrated artisan products, sustainability and a sense of community. It's the second year this wine, food, music and arts festival has run, moving from The Forum last year to much bigger premises at The Carriageworks.
Sixty nine wineries from around the world came together with artisan producers, farmers and restaurants. The giant hall may have been sweltering with humidity but that didn't stop us staying for about eight hours on the Sunday.
Rootstock Sydney 2014
Sunday Marketplace
Sunday Marketplace
The Sunday Marketplace was a free and unticketed event, bustling with familiar faces and products, including Pepe Saya, Flour and Stone and Brickfields.
Brickfields and Woods Organics
Bryce Woods from Woods Organics, who supplies the organic flour to Brickfields
Woods Organics grow and mill organic flour in Moree in northern New South Wales. The family-run farm uses organic farming methods and is completely self-reliant in its energy resources, sourcing and managing its own water, sewage and solar electricity.
Bryce said they started supplying Brickfields with one tonne of flour a week but that has now grown to three tonnes!
Persian love cake from Brickfields $5
Fig and fig leaf frangipane tart from Brickfields $5
Chocolate and salted kaya croissant from Brickfields $5
We ate the Persian love cake, the fig leaf frangipane tart and the chocolate and salted kaya croissant! There's only a glimmer of salted kaya piped in with the chocolate, but the flaky pastry is wondrous, puffed up like a pillow with distinct layers you can't even begin to count.
Custard and date tarts from Brickfields $5
The custard and date tarts are also tasty, a layer of rich and smooth custard baked in a short buttery pastry with a hidden squidgy base of date.
Brisket, cabbage and salsa verde on ciabatta from Brickfields $12
Bonito fillets cooking over charcoal at Brickfields
Barbecued bonito with ox heart tomatoes, red onion and aioli from Brickfields
After making several laps of the market, we were too full for a sandwich here, but head baker Simon Cancio treated us with the barbecued bonito sans bread instead. Fresh off the charcoal grill, the bonito was lusciously tender and smoky.
Simon Cancio, head baker and co-creator of Brickfields
Pastured smoked ham from Feather and Bone
Pastured ham with Young Henrys cider glaze sandwich $10
Beef and bacon burger $10 both from Feather and Bone
Ethiopia coffee beans from Sample Coffee Roasters
Pepe Saya butter tastings
Glorious Pepe Saya butter. How can you say no?
Ravioli fritti from Full Circle using Pepe Saya buttermilk ricotta
Next door to Pepa Saya, Full Circle were cranking out homemade ravioli fritti, with fresh pasta hand-cranked on-site.
Making fresh pasta at Full Circle
Making ravioli with kale and Pepe Saya buttermilk ricotta at Full Circle
Kale and buttermilk ricotta ravioli at Full Circle ready for the deep fryer
Organic penne and strozzapreti from Pasta Emilia
Beetroot and chevre tortelli from Pasta Emilia $8
Strozzapreti with Karrawong Organic Farm basil pesto and a traditional rich ragu from Pasta Emilia $5 each
We swooped on the bowls of strozzapreti pasta from Pasta Emilia, one tossed with Karrawong Organic Farm basil pesto; the other with a traditional rich ragu.
Nadine Ingram at the Flour and Stone stall
I hightailed it to Flour and Stone, determined to buy up their pannacotta lamingtons before they sold out.
Panna cotta lamington from Flour and Stone $6.50
If you haven't had one, the panna cotta lamington is life-changing. The sponge cake is soaked in panna cotta then assembled with jam, a thick chocolatey icing and rolled in desiccated coconut and coconut flakes.
Old fashioned vanilla cake by Flour and Stone $5.50 per slice
Inside the old fashioned vanilla cake by Flour and Stone
I also picked up a slice of the old fashioned vanilla cake, sandwiched with cream and fresh raspberry coulis.
Fine apple tart from Flour and Stone $6
Lovely little lemon curd tarts by Flour and Stone $4.50
Iggy's Bread
Chargrilling Iggy's Bread for bruschetta
Bruschetta with pig's head on Iggy's Bread $5
The pig's head on bruschetta was a winner too, a fat slice of terrine on a thick slab of crusty bread from Iggy's.
Waste Not Rolls by Cornersmith
Ham hock and slaw on a whey and porkfat bun by Cornersmith $8
Cornersmith pickles
Woodfired pizza by Vini $10
Highland Gourmet Potatoes
Sapphire potatoes from Highland Gourmet Potatoes
Alex Herbert making paella at Bird Cow Fish
Crooked Madams with ham, gruyere and fried egg from Bird Cow Fish $8.50
Toasted Crooked Madam with ham, gruyere and fried egg from Bird Cow Fish $8.50
Paella with chorizo, mussels and prawns from Bird Cow Fish $10
It was hard to resist the allure of a giant paella pan either. There was a generous amount of chorizo, mussels and prawns from Bird Cow Fish.
Chemical free garlic from Silvertop Organics
Achacha fruit
Free fruit at the City of Sydney Green Villages stall
Caramelised onion and gruyere tart from Pinbone $6
Braised sticky lamb ribs with rice and beans from Pinbone $10
The braised sticky lamb ribs from Pinbone were incredibly tender but what I found surprisingly addictive was the black beans and rice that were deliciously al dente with a garlicky hit.
Gluten-free chocolate cookies with cream cheese from Pinbone $4
Kylie Kwong of Billy Kwong
Chefs from Mary's Newtown
Gregory Llewellyn from Hartsyard
Southern fried chicken legs about to go into the fryer at Hartsyard
It was a heart-stopping moment when I spotted the Southern fried chicken sign at Hartsyard.
Southern fried chicken from Hartsyard $5
This was a beast of a chicken leg, coated in a crunchy layer of batter with tender brined flesh beneath.
Sipping and eating at Rootstock Sydney 2014
Orange wine: 2007 Denavolo Dinavolo (Italy) $15
At the far end of the markets was the Orange wine bar. Orange wines aren't necessarily from Orange - although they can be - but refer to white wines which have a reintroduced period of contact with grape skins, giving an amber hue and greater complexities to the end result. White wines usually discard the grape skins after juicing.
Orange wine: 2012 Serragghia Bianco Zibibbo Vino Secco (Italy) $15
There's a lot more to taste in orange wines, which have an increased sense of gutsiness. Unfiltered wines, like the zibibbo above, give an even broader spectrum of flavour.
Cheese toastie with Manjimup black truffle and gruyere cheese by Alquimie $10
The G Man can't resist anything with truffle and ended up buying two gruyere cheese toasties grated over with Manjimup black truffle. There ain't a more decadent toasted cheese sandwich than this one.
Chocolate mousse with Manjimup black truffle and Diantree Estates 70% chocolate by Alquimie $10
We also hoed into the chocolate mousse with Manjimup black truffle. It might seem like a strange combo at first, but the earthiness of the truffle resonates well against the dark chocolate.
Milk crate hipster seating
'That's Amore' Coorong Angus tartare with tomato, parmesan, garlic and oregano by Cafe Paci $10
A pizza box with a smudge of parmesan dusted Coorong Angus tartare looked a puzzling sight, but this Cafe Paci offering did taste eerily like pizza.They cheekily called this dish "That's Amore".
Sakes: Fragrant midori 60 by Okamura Honke (Shiga) $10 and
wholegrain genmaishu by Kameman Shuzo (Kumamoto) $10
Mrs Pig Flyin' also gets us onto the sake bar. The fragrant midori 60 was sweet and musky and there was a lovely sweet toffee note to the wholegrain genmaishu.
Wine Festival
Rootstock Sydney 2014 Wine Festival guides
After spending $50 on drinks at the orange bar and sake bar, we figured we might as well call it quits and enter the Wine Festival. The Wine Festival cost $50 to enter, but the enclosed area allowed you to taste as much as you like from 69 wineries in a four-hour period.
Tasting stalls at the Rootstock Sydney 2014 Wine Festival
After one hour, we had only only covered one quarter of the vineyards represented and were already starting to feel tipsy! The producers were all super friendly and eager to share the backgrounds to their wines.
The Rootstock wine manifesto dictates that all the wines represented comes from vineyards that use organic, biodynamic or sustainable practices. All wines should be made with naturally occurring yeasts, no or low levels of sulphur (all clearly labelled) and without commercial additions, including enzymes, acids, sugars and tannins. All grapes should be 100% hand-harvested.
Albert Mann pinot blanc and riesling from Alsace, France
The Albert Mann estate is 21 hectares in size and produces 120,000 bottles of wine per year. The estate's wines have been organically certified by Ecocert since 2000.
2013 Weeping Tiger pinot gris 'orange wine' by Cambridge Road Vineyard, Martinborough, New Zealand
Lance Redgwell started Cambridge Road on the site of one of Martinborough's oldest vineyards, the Fraser Block, in 1986. The 2.2 hectare estate is made of pinot noir and syrah, producing 12,000 bottles of wine per year.
I liked the Weeping Tiger pinot gris, an orange wine with 12 days of skin contact and no sulphites added. Only 400 bottles of this vintage were produced.
Pheasant's Tears, Kakheti, Georgia
Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world, with some archaeologists theorising that the first cultivated grapewines were grown here over 8,000 years ago.
Pheasant's Tears 2011 Khisi orange wine produced in Kakheti, Georgia
Pheasant's Tears was started in 2007 by John Wurdeman, an American artist living in Georgia, who partnered with local vigneron Geia Patalishvili. They use local grape varieties and traditional qvevri clay pots for fermentation.
Wapengo Rocks certified organic wild oysters
In the midst of wine swilling, we stumbled upon Wapengo Rocks and their certified organic wild oysters.
Wapengo Rocks certified organic wild oysters
These oysters were wild harvested, and their plumpness was incredible, giving an intense hit of supreme brininess.
Wapengo Rocks certified organic wild oysters $20 for 8
Fatalone Azienda Agricola Primitivo Reservo from Puglia, Italy
The Fatalone vineyard was established in the late 19th century, growing primitivo and greco grape varietals. The Primitivo Reserva 2005 and the Primitivo 2009 are both orange wines with 15 days of skin contact.
Cheese tasting plate from Ocello $10
Vacche Rosse Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (4 years) and Tretingrana di Montagna DOP (2 years)
Cheese also works well with wine. The four-year-old Vacche Rosse Parmigiano Reggiano from Ocello was wondrously sharp and crumbly.
Costa Georgiadis gets in on the fun
Night Festival
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Dorper lamb on a spit by Luke Powell
At 6pm the Night Festival kicked off, another free event that saw chefs from Sydney (plus Garagistes from Tasmania) offer up special dishes matched with their favourite wine.
Between the four of us, we ate practically everything.
Breaking down the lamb
Luke Powell's whole lamb on a spit attracted hordes of crowds throughout the evening.
Dorper lamb on Brickfields bread with pickled onion and garlic yoghurt by Luke Powell $10
Chefs on the grill
Whipped smoked eel and beef heart panini by Luke Burgess, Garagistes $10
I loved the partnering of whipped smoked eel with thin slices of grilled beef heart by Luke Burgess from Garagistes.
Whipped smoked eel and beef heart (no bread) by Luke Burgess, Garagistes $10
Pig Flyin' got his without the bread which would have been even tastier.
Burrawong chicken with chimichurri and grilled cos by Shannon Debreceny, Thee Blue Ducks $10
Mario pastor tacos by Dan Pepperell, 10 William St $10
Blowtorching sardines
Sardine, smoked mussel aioli, sorrel and pancetta by Jordan Toft, The Eveleigh LA $10
Jordan Toft will soon be starting at the Charing Cross Hotel in Waverley.
Braised pork neck with almonds, cherry, rosemary and eschallot by O Tama Carey, Berta $10
The braised pork neck from Berta was superb, the tender flesh harmonising with the sweetness of cherry and scattered rosemary leaves.
Pork skin noodles in a pumpkin skin broth with powdered chicken and sesame by Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman from Pinbone $10
The pork skin noodles by Pinbone were an interesting twist, the chewy 'noodles' slurped up with a hearty broth that included powdered chicken and white and black sesame seeds.
Heirloom tomato, fennel and olive crumb by Mitch Orr, 121BC $10
Blood sausage sanga by Mat Lindsay, Ester $5
The blood sausage sanga by Mat Lindsay from Ester was so more-ish - hearty sausage on a soft steamed bun - we went back for seconds.
Sustainable tiger prawn and mushroom with sesame, shallot and soy by Nic Wong, Ester $10
Compressed peach with lemon thyme curd and toasted almonds meringue by Federico Zanellato, Ormeggio $10
The compressed peach with lemon thyme curd from Ormeggio was the perfect end to a great day out.
What struck me most about Rootstock Sydney was the genuine sense of collaboration, community spirit and grassroots enthusiasm. Can't wait for the next one.
Rootstock Sydney 2014 was held February 8-9, 2014 at The Carriageworks.
Rootstock Sydney is a not-for-profit festival run by Giorgio de Maria (121BC and Vini), Mike Bennie (wine writer), James Hird (Wine Library, Vincent, Pinbone), Matt Young (Black Market Sake) and Linda Wiss (Black Market Sake).
10 William 10 William Street, Paddington
121 BC 4/50 Holt Street, Surry Hills
Berta 17-19 Alberta Street, Surry Hills
Brickfields 206 Cleveland Street, Chippendale
Cafe Paci Level 1, 95 Riley Street, Darlinghurst
Cornersmith 314 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
Ester 46-52 Meagher Street, Chippendale
Flour and Stone 53 Riley Street, Woolloomooloo
Garagistes 103 Murray Street, Hobart, Tasmania
Hartsyard 33 Enmore Road, Newtownga
Mary's 6 Mary Street, Newtown
Ormeggio The Spit, D'Allbora Marinas, Spit Road, Mosman
Pasta Emilia 259 Riley Street, Surry Hills
Pinbone 3 Jersey Road, Woollahra
Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Rootstock 2015
posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 2/12/2014 11:18:00 pm
29 Comments:
At 2/12/2014 11:38 pm, Padaek said…
Oh no - I so missed out on this fab looking event - sighs. I'll be scheduling this into my calender for next year, hopefully. Gorgeous photos Helen! Among many things, those wild oysters look wonderful. It looks like a foodies paradise. :)
At 2/12/2014 11:41 pm, Sherrie @ Crystal Noir said…
I need all that food in my belly! I wasn't aware of this event but I'll have to be sure to mark it down in my calender for next year :)
At 2/12/2014 11:45 pm, Ramen Raff said…
Get outta here! Chocolate and salted kaya croissants???! So boss!!! I didn't even know this was on lol I totes missed out. That fried chicken will surely make any day a happy fryday!
At 2/13/2014 12:20 am, chocolatesuze said…
devo that i couldnt make it to rootstock, everything looks fricken tasty esp that cheese toastie with truffles!
At 2/13/2014 12:29 am, pigflyin' said…
So fun to be there at rootstock!
I think "genuine" is the word to describe why this is so much fun... and the orange wines.
the highlight for me would meeting or admiring from afar so many of my food hero, most of them I only knew from their instagram feed.
... And pig head, and cherry and pork from berta, and fried chicken from hartsyard, and the extra ordinary wapengo wild oyster and ...more!
this is how a movement should be. learn something SMH. So looking forward to next year!
PS. feel so naked and inadequate without a beard walking around in rootstock.
At 2/13/2014 9:28 am, Tina@foodboozeshoes said…
Wow, SO MUCH FOOD! The oysters look amazing..! Looks like it was an amazing event :)
At 2/13/2014 11:36 am, Jacq said…
wow I wish I'd known about this event! looks like there were so many interesting dishes to try
At 2/13/2014 12:02 pm, thecasualfoodblogger said…
Oh my....looks amazing. Loving the crusty bread (one of my favourites)!
At 2/13/2014 3:28 pm, Milktea Eats said…
im so sad i missed out on this cos of work! it has some of my all time fav shops!
p.s. time to grow a beard in time for next year!
At 2/13/2014 6:48 pm, Anonymous said…
Yum! everything here looks fantastic ...too bad i didn't hear about it till your post
At 2/13/2014 8:16 pm, Sarah said…
Wow! Super epic post! Great work! That looks like a really great festival. I often avoid food festivals here because I feel like they can be more about gaining money for the organisers than promoting the restaurants / producers involved. But this one looks great.
You also made me want to go to Brickfields super bad! I just google-mapped it and realised it's super close to the centre of town! Yay! Definitely one for my next visit. :)
At 2/13/2014 8:59 pm, The Food Sage said…
When i first read that you spent 8 hours there on Sunday, i thought: "what?" But by the end of the post i totally understand why … what a find! I love the look of the old fashioned vanilla cake. What a lovely looking sponge. Dead jealous. Great post, as always.
At 2/13/2014 9:59 pm, Anonymous said…
looks very good, should be on every week , where do ya get those oysters ? Bob
At 2/13/2014 10:02 pm, Annie said…
was nice bumping into you that day :). really enjoyed both sessions! sad that it's over already
At 2/13/2014 11:18 pm, Von said…
That fried chicken looks amazing! :) Why do I always only hear about these kinds of awesome events after they occur? Oh well...there's always next year haha
At 2/14/2014 12:49 am, Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…
Hi Bob - You can get Wapengo oysters from the restaurants listed here: http://wapengorocks.com.au/v1/#friends
At 2/14/2014 12:14 pm, Unknown said…
That is so much great food!! YUM!
I can't believe all the goodies, my belly would have been aching after sampling everything.
At 2/14/2014 9:26 pm, Amanda@ChewTown said…
The photos I saw on instagram during the event looked amazing. I can't believe how much you were able to try! Impressive. It really does sound like a wonderful event.
At 2/15/2014 9:36 am, ChopinandMysaucepan said…
Dear Helen,
All the food looks glorious and French pastries are finally coming to their senses piping in kaya.
At 2/15/2014 3:14 pm, Sake Girl said…
I wish I haven't seen these! Too amazing!
I was planning to come, but got ill:((
Dang!
At 2/15/2014 6:27 pm, Cindy (a foodie's joy) said…
Wow Helen! Respect! You lasted the day and night! The food looks really good! The chocolate and salted kaya croissant certainly caught my eye! :)
At 2/15/2014 6:28 pm, CQUEK said…
Gong Xi Fa Cai- wow! all the delicious food.. yummy!
At 2/15/2014 11:44 pm, Chris @ MAB vs Food said…
OMG, what an epic post! Amazing event and great to see so many chefs get together for this. I would have gone absolutely broke at this event. I am drooling after looking at all these pics. Loving how they shave truffle on almost anything :)
At 2/16/2014 8:30 am, Katie said…
This is insane! I'm so glad I missed this because I would not only be as big as a house but i'd be totally broke! Lucky I can live vicariously through you ;)
At 2/16/2014 6:23 pm, gaby @ lateraleating said…
Oh no, so sad I missed it!
At 2/16/2014 6:54 pm, Sara | Belly Rumbles said…
I seriously wish I hadn't read your recap of Rootstock. I really really really wanted to go. Consoled myself in the fact that it probably wasn't much chop. But no, it looked like an amazing event. Gahhhhhhhh, next year I suppose.
At 2/16/2014 7:26 pm, Unknown said…
Flipping great post Helen. So comprehensive. Mmmmm hartsyard chicken. Definitely something to look forward to next year.
At 2/16/2014 8:51 pm, Unknown said…
So much food love! I knew it was good when I saw some on your IG feed, but this is phenomenal! From that amazingly caramelised (ginormous) apple tart, to truffle cheese toasties and blood sausage...wow!
At 2/23/2014 10:47 pm, Amanda @ Gourmanda said…
Helen, I am so impressed with how much you managed to sample on the day! You must have been full to bursting by the end of it!
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