| Izah Azahari |
THE Australian High Commission in Brunei Darussalam is scheduled to host a ‘Taste of Australia’ event at the Radisson Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, on May 12 from 2pm to 5pm which will include cooking demonstrations by renowned Australian chef, Jake Nicolson, as well as a cooking competition by the members of the public and stalls showcasing premium Australian products available in Brunei, with free entry.
This was explained by the High Commissioner of Australia to Brunei Darussalam, Nicola Rosenblum, yesterday during a press conference held at the Australian High Commission office in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Also in attendance during the press conference was Josie Abdullah, the Senior Business Development Manager (Brunei/Sabah) of the Australian Trade Commission, Australian High Commission. The high commissioner also explained that Chef Nicolson is the executive chef of the Ghanem Group featuring the award-winning Blackbird Bar and Grill.
Chef Nicolson is renowned for his innovative dishes featuring hard-to-find high quality produce, where he is passionate about whole cookery and seasonality as well as sustainability in cooking, and during his visit to Brunei, the chef will be exploring the local Bruneian ingredients and how they can be incorporated into his cooking.
At the Taste of Australia event, the chef will demonstrate cooking techniques used in the best kitchens around the world.
Nicola Rosenblum (right), High Commissioner of Australia to Brunei Darussalam; and Josie Abdullah, Senior Business Development Manager (Brunei/Sabah) of the Australian Trade Commission at the Australian High Commission. – PHOTOS: IZAH AZAHARI
Meanwhile, the cooking competition will be open to the public where they need to simply prepare a delicious dish that uses at least one Australian ingredient and one Bruneian ingredient, and then bring the dish along to the Radisson Hotel on May 12 where the dish will be judged by Chef Nicolson and local Bruneian foodie, Thanis Lim.
There will also be an opportunity for the public to vote, and the competition categories include ‘Savoury/Adult’, ‘Savoury/Under 18 years’, ‘Sweet/Adult’, ‘Sweet/Under 18 years’, and ‘Popular Choice’. There is no limit to the number of dishes entered for the competition.
The high commissioner explained that since arriving in Brunei she has noticed that Bruneians have a passion for food where it’s quite a part of their daily life, as well as family and community life, which is quite similar to Australia’s passion for food as they are very big on clean fresh food and fantastic ingredients.
The prizes that will be up for grabs for the Taste of Australia cooking competition
In combining the idea of the passion of Australia and passion of Brunei for food, the high commissioner came up with an event which showcases Australian products but also focuses on the local aspect as well.
“I thought it would be great if people were encouraged to try and find ways to blend Australian and Bruneian products,” said Rosenblum.
Meanwhile, Josie explained that the Taste of Australia is a good platform especially for the Bruneian importers and distributors of Australian producers that are available in Brunei. They have reached out to many distributors in Brunei, in which about 15 of these companies will be taking up space and presenting the Australian produce they are importing during the event, where the general idea is to create an awareness on the products being imported and distributed in the Brunei market.
The key objective of the event, explained the high commissioner, is to create awareness of high quality Australian products so that Bruneians, particularly businesses, companies and the local public, understand that Australia is a source of high quality, fresh and reputable ingredients; as well as to create closer ties between Australia and Brunei through the shared love of food.
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