Sydney Food Bloggers Christmas Picnic

Strawberry Santas by Ayana from Absolutely Ayana

It was a spectacular day for a picnic on Saturday, a backdrop of clear blue skies and dappled sunshine for the second annual Sydney Food Bloggers Christmas Picnic co-hosted by Chocolatesuze and I.

Over sixty food bloggers descended on Centennial Park, a chance for everyone to meet new faces, mingle and, most importantly, eat.


Christmas puddings by Vivian from vxdollface

The spread of food was impressive as always, a collaborative effort that showcased the creativity and generosity of Sydney's food bloggers. Sweets outnumbered savouries as usual, and it didn't take long for people to eat their fill and find themselves sprawled supine on picnic rugs.

I was inspired by all the Christmas-themed desserts, many of which I've mentally filed away for future reference!


Orange, pistachio and cardamom cupcakes by Angie from Angie Lives to Eat


Christmas tree meringues by Jacq from Penguin Says Feed Me!


Chocolate mudcake Christmas cupcakes by Kay from KayB


Pao de Queijo Brazilian cheesebread by Tammi from Insatiable Munchies


Ribs by Billy from A Table for Two


White chocolate wontons with pinenut and rosemary praline by John from He Needs Food


Macaron Christmas tree by Cleony from I Eat Sweet

The arrival of the macaron Christmas tree created an immediate ripple of excitement. Flavours included chocolate and mint, raspberry with raspberrry jam, chocolate, and - my favourite - sticky rice. Cleony makes cupcakes, macarons, sugar cookies and and custom cakes to order (details).


Macaron Christmas tree

The Sydney Food Blogger Olympics made its debut at the picnic, a series of games I devised to add some fun and frivolity to the event. Competitors were randomly chosen, and the events were meant to test some of the skills essential to being a food blogger.

Sydney Food Blogger Olympics
(Team members in competitive event order)

Team 1: Team Asia
1. Ken from Cupcakiedolly
2. Monica from Love My Foods and Sugar
3. Marvin from Eat Marvin
4. Clarissa from Eat My Shots

Team 2: Tinsel Twos
1. Rhonda from The Dainty Baker
2. Joshua from Belly Rumbles
3. Melissa from Mel's Food Journey
4. Minh from Eat Show & Tell

Team 3: The Fondant Penguins
1. Adrienna from Fish in a Car
2. Phuoc from Phuoc'n Delicious
3. Melanie from The Adventures of Miss Piggy
4. Sneh from Cook Republic

Team 4: Team Diva
1. Sara from Belly Rumbles
2. Deborah from Vintage Macaroon
3. Billy from A Table for Two
4. Shez from One Bite More


Chopstick challenge - because you have to be fast when eating with food bloggers
[Photo credit: Angie from Angie Lives to Eat]

The Chopstick challenge was a test of speed and dexterity, transferring 50 soya beans from one bowl to another. I initially had 100 in each bowl but soon realised it was rather difficult and halved the amount. Even then it was a tricky challenge.


Taste test challenge - because it's important to have an accurate palate
[Photo credit: Angie from Angie Lives to Eat]

I was a little disorganised with the Taste Test Challenge and had to raid my rather empty pantry. The mystery ingredients weren't overly difficult - cucumber and sunflower seeds. Next time (?!) the stakes will be raised significantly.


Plating and photography challenge - because we like to make food look good
[Photo credit: Angie from Angie Lives to Eat]

The final challenge was two-part: the first was to raid the picnic leftovers and plate something delicious. The next person then had to use a mobile phone to photograph the plate and tweet it with the hashtag #sydfoodblogxmas.



The final entries: top row Teams 1 and 2,
bottom row Teams 3 and 4


Everyone's a winner
[Photo credit: Simon from The Heart of Food]

It was a close competition but the final tally was:
Gold: Team 4 - Team Diva
Silver: Team 1 - Team Asia
Bronze: Team 2 - Tinsel Twos
Bronze: Team 3 - The Fondant Penguins

We finished with the evil Kris Kringle game - choose a present from the pile or steal someone else's. Hours of fun!


Sydney Food Bloggers
[Photo credit: Simon from The Heart of Food]

Thanks everyone for coming! Here's to an even more delicious year ahead!

- Check out the Twitter hashtag #sydfoodblogxmas for more posts on the event.


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Sydney Food Bloggers Christmas Picnic 2009