The Little Food Market Sydney Debut

Sydney Gets a New Food Market

The Little Food Market made its Sydney debut at Carriageworks, bringing artisan producers together under one roof. Many of the makers travelled from Melbourne for the occasion, creating a great Melbourne-meets-Sydney atmosphere.

Thank you to Sophie from The Big Design Group for inviting us to come along. It was such a great way to kick starting the weekend.

We spent a fun morning wandering through the market, tasting and meeting producers. There was plenty of sampling before buying, which made discovering something new part of the experience. We enjoyed it so much that we returned later with the kids. This time, we had one mission: pick up some goodies to take home.

The Food We Couldn't Leave Without

Food was obviously a major highlight, with plenty of producers bringing something worth tasting.

Vanella Cheese was one of our first stops. They had originally been recommended to us, so we were particularly keen to try their cheeses. The recommendation definitely lived up to expectations.

Next was Mrs Choi's Crispy Chilli Oil, we have no idea how the ‘Crispy' stays so crispy when soaked in chili oil, needless to say we took home a a couple of jars! It had the kind of flavour that immediately makes you think about what you could cook with it.

We almost missed this, if we hadn't gone back in the afternoon. Uncle Tsai's Scallion Ginger Oil was another pantry winner. It was so fresh, tasted freshly made from my mum's kitchen. Perfect with a hainanese chicken rice or even steam fish.

Then there were the Dol Bocia Butter Boys. Seeing beautifully made butter treated as something worth seeking out was a highlight in itself. If we could, we would have walked away with the lot.

These were the kinds of discoveries that made the market so enjoyable. You could arrive without a shopping list and leave with plenty of inspiration for the kitchen.

Wine, Naturally

We made a beeline for our partners, catching up over a few pours before discovering some new producers along the way.

We started with Pizzini Wines, the Victorian producer bringing its wines to Sydney. Trent always enjoys the Pietra Rossa Sangiovese and I went for a chilled Brachetto. What we also noticed was a new Pinot Grigio bagnum which can come in quite handy in the coming Summer months.

We caught up with Adam Gibson, from Gibson Wines. We can never say no to their Barossan Shiraz. Then over to the husband and wife duo, Mark & Skye Bollen from Sussex Squire from Clare Valley.

A new winery that caught our attention was Bruce from Bruno & George Winery and spent some time tasting and chatting. This was an occasion of being at the right place right time. It was the first release of the 2023 ‘The George'. Twelve years in the making, The George brings together Barossa Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in a super-premium wine built to stand the test of time.

Talking directly with the producers gave us a better understanding of what went into each bottle and what to expect from future vintages. That mix of catching up with people we already know and discovering new producers made the wine offering a real highlight.

A Market We'll Be Back For

By the end of the morning, we had done our rounds through the wine section and met plenty of producers. We also watched Christopher Tea, aka The Watermelon Cake Man, put on his masterclass.

Of course, we tasted plenty of goodies along the way and started making a mental shopping list. Then we returned in the afternoon with the kiddies. We did another round of food tasting and finally bagged a few favourites to take home.

One of the biggest surprises was meeting Annie from Annie Bucket List, who is one of Sydney’s favourite food and lifestyle content creators. We’ve followed Annie for years, so it was lovely to finally meet her in person.

That mix of food, wine, producers and unexpected encounters made the day for us. A big thank you to Sophie for inviting us to the Sydney debut at Carriageworks. We had a great time and are already looking forward to The Little Food Market next year.