Confidence tips 'bulletproof' status with 'magical' FOOD festival start

Opening the 10-day FOOD Week events, organisers shuffled the famous Robertson Park Night Markets to the Orange Showground's Naylor Pavilion on April 5.

With April 5 and 6 tallying a combined 90-odd mm of rainfall for the colour city, chef FOOD Week committee member, Richard Learmonth said the first gig nabbed "great feedback" regardless of wet conditions.

"[The rain] didn't stop anyone's fun and a lot of people already know of our region's changing climate, so they're already bracing for some kind of unexpected weather," he said.

"It's part of the fun for travellers as well, and for a big event that only happens once a year, they're not going to miss out on it because of some rain.

"There's nothing anyone can do when it starts pouring down, but the move to the pavilion was a pretty big success, and having it there sort of centralised everything a little bit more as well.

"Everybody was in there, side by side, which created this kind of tight-knit crowd, and it was set up in a way that made it easy for people to get around, see everything, and then pick and choose what they wanted."

In terms of traffic management, Mr Learmonth said the 2024 Night Markets were "a bit more streamlined" than the year prior, with buses working well to get people in and out of the showgrounds "without too much drama".

Presumably no easy feat either, considering tickets for the after-dark event exceeded the 1000 mark, and brought in people of all ages.

The event's live music from Javier & The Wave band also brought "a nice, positive energy" for what Mr Learmonth dubbed "a casual and fun crowd".

"The vendors also sold really well and a lot of them made some good, well-earned money on the night considering their efforts and the work that goes into what they do," Mr Learmonth said.'

"So, we had a great outcome for them, as well as a lot of happy customers at the same time."

Held from 12pm to 4pm on April 6 to follow, flagship event the Sampson Street Long Lunch geared up on Saturday to wine and dine shy of 400 people.

But it turned out to be a Leeds Parade Long Lunch of sorts after organisers pulled the plug on the outdoor site on Thursday due to the continued wet forecast.

Moving it to the showground's historic agricultural pavilion, Mr Learmonth said the renewed location was chosen as it best replicated a more "rustic, country, outdoorsy vibe".

"It was also nice and protected from all of the elements in there, but it ended up being this huge community event where so many people came together to pull it off," he said.

"It's a beautiful, old building that needed a little bit of love, so we had people foraging for beautiful autumn branches with changing leaves on them to decorate the place to look amazingly different.

"So, we didn't get the oak trees of Sampson Street, but we had a really beautiful alternative in a place that was just transformed in such a stunning way.

"It was really quite magical."

All-hands were on deck, from FOOD Week volunteers to TAFE students and Kinross Wolaroi kids helping out.

Getting plates out to the masses and washing dishes, members from Emus Rugby Club also pitched in to help with the gig's bumping in and out duties.

Special mentions went to Styling by Minikin's Bel Grinter for playing a key role in the site's major facelift for the day.

"When there's an event with 360 people, there are a lot of moving parts and logistics involved, so you've got a lot of systems created on the hop for a one-off gig," Mr Learmonth said.

"But everybody just knew their role really well, and we had a ton of strong, hospitality talent mixing in with great communicators and leaders, dozens and dozens of people getting in there to make it all work.

"It was a lot of work around the clock for a couple of days to get there, but it really brought everyone together.

"A bit of hard work didn't scare anybody, either; we just got it done."

The four chefs were the same as the 2023 crew, featuring Richard Learmonth, the Union Bank's Dom Aboud, Hey Rosey's Hugh Piper, and Groundstone Cafe's Danielle Romeo.

Mates outside of the cooking world as well, word is the four "leapt at the chance" to lead the Sampson Street Long Lunch the second time around.

Hopeful and "keen" to carry this awesome foursome tradition to 2025, Mr Learmonth said the FOOD Week focus has turned to the remaining events.

With smaller-scale gigs to emerge, the mother Forage event will unfold on Saturday, April 13 - which reached sell-out for its 1200 tickets many months ago.

"We're really excited about what's to come now," he said.

"The weather, it's a challenge, but the first few days have been really reassuring in the sense that if something happens, we can switch and adapt, very quickly.

"We feel a bit bulletproof now."