Port eats drinks and plays
“We’ve got 6000 people in here!”Pity the task of the frustrated security guard turning away a long line of patrons, around 9 pm, at the gates of Saturday’s Food and Wine Festival.
But by all accounts from those who made it inside Rex Smeal Park, this year’s festival indeed exceeded expectations.
Not even intermittent rain could dispel the elated spirits of well-contented diners.
Amidst the hum of a crowd milling under marquees for cover, 20 local restaurants and 11 wineries pulled off a catering feat.
Many stalls were left bare of wares, and all told satisfying tales of the biggest culinary festival to dock in Port Douglas.
Angelo Marras of Sardis Restaurant declared the event “absolutely fabulous”.
“Overall, we expected it to be busy, but actually it’s better than our expectations,” he said.
He said Sardis’ calamari – 950 pieces of which were painstakingly, individually skinned before cooking – had proves a popular dish.
“The queues haven’t been too bad and the stand has handled the crowd very well,” Mr Marras said.
Across a rather damp park, at the Zai Japanese Restaurant stand, sous chef Yoshiaki Mantono has sold out of his popular sushi.
Mr Mantono said his team had been up at the crack of dawn to prepare 1000 packs of oriental cuisine for the festival.
“Last year, we had noodles and yakitori (chicken kebabs), but this time we changed the menu to California rolls, sushi, and sashimi,” Mr Mantono said.
And for those who still craved a kebab, the Star of Siam staff were busy at the hotplate with 6000 skewers of Thai fare.
The Radisson Resorts ‘Arabian Nights’ stand, which had run out of kebabs by 10 pm, was still tempting passers-by with its “hit of the night” – sticky date pudding.
For patron and stand-up comedian Pierre Simel, from Melbourne, the dessert had topped off a world-class event.
“I’ve been to the Venice Festival, the Beerfest in Munich, and Pamplona (the running of the bulls) in Spain.”
“Out of the festivals I go to (each year), Port Douglas Carnivals is at the top of the list,” Mr Simel said.
But where would all this creative cuisine be without a good drop in company?
While Tyrell’s Wines had sold out of white, Jacobs Creek NQ manager Jason Kibby said his stand had found more popularity with red wine.
“Merlots tend to be the biggest seller in the Port Douglas region,” Mr Kibby said.
“Port Douglas is known for its boutique style, so merlot is a grape that fits in well up here,” he said.
Mildara Blass sales manager (Queensland) Mark Kitson said he was happy tp see more locals at Food and Wine, 1999.
“It’s a good mix of people – everyone’s had a whale of time,” Mr Kitson said.
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