| James Kon |
LARGE crowds flocked to the ‘Taste of Australia in Brunei’ event hosted by Radisson Hotel yesterday, sampling the Australian products on display and also tasting the specially made dishes during the cooking competition.
Jointly organised by The Australian High Commission with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, the event also featured a cooking demonstration by Jake Nicolson, who was named Australia’s Young Chef of the Year in 2008.
Currently the executive chef of the Ghanem Group, which features the award-winning Blackbird Bar and Grill, Nicolson prepared two dishes for the crowd, one of which utilised Brunei’s fresh blue shrimp as the main ingredient.
Nicola Rosenblum, the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, stated in her opening remarks, “Food is an important part of Bruneians’ daily ritual. It is a core part of family gatherings and community events. It’s what everyone is talking about online. You could even say it’s a national obsession.”
Food, she added, “is also important to Australians. We are obsessed with clean, fresh food and high quality produce. ‘Taste of Australia in Brunei’ seeks to unite those two passions.”
Daniel Havas, the Senior Australian Trade Commissioner for Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, said in his remarks, “Australian food is not just for state banquets – our food can make any occasion special. The rich variety of terrains and climates across our continent allows us to produce an abundant variety of premium offerings all year round.”
Winners of the cooking competition in a group photo with Nicola Rosenblum, the Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, Daniel Havas, the Senior Australian Trade Commissioner for Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, Australian chef Jake Nicolson and Thanis Lim
The crowds sampling the long line of dishes for the cooking competition. – PHOTOS: JAMES KON
He said that Australian products enjoy widespread popularity because “of the quality of Australian produce. Australian fine foods are like the land they come from: pure, natural and full of flavour. Our green pastures are an ideal setting for raising animals – free from artificial growth, and family-run farms in many instances care about the environment. This can be seen in the quality of our beef, our lamb, our horticulture and the many exciting, as well as healthy, dairy products produced across Australia”.
He added, “Just as importantly, we have a long and strong bilateral partnership between our economies highlighted by the Asean-Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).”
The role of Austrade, he said, “is to facilitate the connections, collaboration and business-to-business opportunities for Australian industry in international markets. Here, in Brunei, our Austrade office managed by Josie Abdullah is working closely with the high commissioner and her team to deliver Australia’s Economic Diplomacy strategy.”
Meanwhile, Chef Nicolson joined local food guru, Thanis Lim, as fellow judge in a cooking competition, where recipes were created using ingredients from Australia and Brunei Darussalam.
The winners of the competition were presented with exciting prizes.
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