Last month, at Eat Drink Blog, I fell in love with my city all over again.

The Hamlet

Brathaus schnitzels

Pie Day pies

Brod Dogs

Salted caramel mararons

Chasing Mr Morris doughnuts

I first came to Canberra more than 20 years ago in my late teens.  I came as a student, from a childhood in the bush, and initially found it very bare and open, with what seemed to be identikit suburbs stretching on forever.

Hopscotch

Marble & Grain

Frugii

Lucky’s

Gradually, as I developed networks of friends and familiar places, it grew on me.  I grew to love my tree filled neighbourhood, the birds…the closeness to bushland, shops, and monuments and attractions.  In the world of food I loved my local markets, both the big Belconnen Markets, as well as smaller local ones, and as we had children, appreciated a rare night out at some of Canberra’s great restaurants.

Capital Region Farmers Market

Yes I loved all these things, but it was a quiet appreciation, born of long familiarity and I think I took many things for granted, and knowing they were there, didn’t necessarily take advantage of them.  The Capital Region Farmers Market would be top of the list of  Canberra features I always planned to go to but never did!

Eat Drink Blog at the Nishi Gallery

The Cheese Project

The Cheese Project

Poachers Pantry

Beautiful tea pots

Tess Godkin’s class

On the weekend of the 16-18 October though, all that changed…  Over the two days of the  2015 Eat Drink Blog Conference I was informed, entertained, and delighted, but most of all I was blown away by a brand new perspective on my home town.

menu for the dinner at A Baker

cured meats

Mount Majura wines

vegetables and flowers from local farmers and A Baker’s gardens

plating up

Shaw River buffalo mozzarella

braised octopus

local mushrooms with gnocchi

black sesame bavarois

Everything, everything! we experienced, made me more and more proud of this fabulous city – from the incredibly generous sponsors, amazing venues, and unstoppable organisers, to the expert and motivating speakers, and most of all, to the passionate and driven producers and artisans (most of whom are showcased here) who shared their food and vision with us over the weekend.

BentSpoke Brewing Co.

Lunch menu

Ploughman’s board

Roasted blue eye with risotto and cheesesteak ciabatta

Fuggacino

Fuggacino close up

And what made it even more special, was sharing the experience with so many other passionate foodies, both locals who shared my pride, and visitors from interstate who we could show our city to.  I will be doing another post about some of the wonderful bloggers I got to spend a weekend with.

I honestly can’t wait for next year’s Eat Drink Blog to have the opportunity to discover another city in the same way, but for now, signing off – so proud to be a Canberran!