the heart of food is now a little over a year old, having first started on February of 2009. The birth of this blog is in some part thanks to Helen, from the prolific Sydney food blog Grab Your Fork. She was the one that inspired me to start this whole blogging thing, as she has with a number of other Sydney food bloggers.

Over this past year, there have been quite a number of amazing food experiences. One of the things that stands out in my mind are the birthday celebrations of various food bloggers.

Please join me for a review of the food experiences regarding birthdays and birthday-related posts over the past year, including some new material and images. Read more »

There is a Czech proverb that goes “A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it’s better to be thoroughly sure”. There was opportunity for plenty of both fine beers and thoroughness at a special beer appreciation dinner held at the MuMu Grill, owned and operated by Head Chef Craig MacIndoe.

Craig had invited a number of bloggers, as well as some twitter followers and some regulars to this dining experience. Various courses of food were served with matching beers in the same way that one may serve food with a matching wine. However, there was a little more to this dinner than just food & beer. Read more »

Some succulent looking roast pork, huh? It’s been a while since I’ve had roasted pork this good! However, this dish was but a small portion of the food that was available at a post-Christmas gathering of food bloggers that was organised by Richard from Here Comes The Food.

Though, don’t be fooled into thinking that this was just some casual gathering of a few people.

No, no, no…

With up to 21 attendees in total, which includes a few +1’s i.e. partners, this turned out to be something of a special occasion. An occasion where the food ranged from the good, the crazy, and the crazy good. Read more »

It’s not often that you have the opportunity to meet with a food blogger from another country. So it was with some excitement that I had the pleasure to meet Brad, the photographer/writer behind the award nominated food blog ladyironchef, one of the most popular food blogs in Singapore. With a name like ladyironchef, I was surprised to not see a woman sitting at the table when I arrived at the restaurant.

Considering it was his first time in Sydney, what better way to be introduced to the Sydney food scene than by having a marathon night out with prominent food bloggers from Grab Your Fork, chocolatesuze, A Table for Two, eatshow&tell, Citrus & Candy, & hungry.digital.elf. Read more »

Imagine, if you will, the following scenario.

It’s a wonderfully moderate Summer’s day with a nice, cool breeze. You make you way out to a park, perhaps to walk the dog. Before you, a large gathering of people (you estimate around fifty) are having what looks to be a picnic. Rugs laid out on the grass, as well as a generous spread various foods, both savory and sweet, which remains otherwise untouched. People sitting or standing around in small clusters socialising & seemingly enjoying each others company. The person whom you presume to be the host, gathers everyone’s attention in order to say a few words. A moment later, forty odd digital cameras, ranging from a basic camera phone, point & shoot compact cameras, through to pro level camera equipment worth thousands of dollars, suddenly appears from seemingly no where & proceeds to fire away. The focus of their photo frenzy is not aimed at the group as a whole. Not even an individual. The food is the epicenter of their attention, & continues to be that way for the next ten minutes or so.

I’d imagine it would be quite a surreal sight to bear for the person walking their dog in the park. Believe me, as one of the fifty odd attendees of the Sydney food blogger’s Christmas picnic in Hyde park, it was surreal even for me. Read more »