Fred from Fred's Bush Tucker holds an eel ready for cooking at Elizabeth Farm Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums
Each autumn we celebrate Darug culture at our annual Eel Festival at Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta. This family-friendly event honours Parramatta’s namesake, the eel, and its significance to the local Burramattagal people, who would gather in autumn to trade goods and share stories and food.
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Spring Harvest Festival at Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums
“It is now Spring, & the Eye is delighted with a most beautiful variegated Landscape – Almonds – Apricots, Pear and Apple Trees are in full bloom. The native shrubs are also in flower, & the whole Country gives a grateful perfume.”
Elizabeth Macarthur to her friend Miss Kingdon, Parramatta, 1798 Continue reading
Spoons and ladles from Francatelli's Cook's Guide and Advertiser. Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection
While we’re mainly looking at the pots and pans in this series on the colonial batterie de cuisine, it’s a good time for a diversion into all the miscellaneous bits and pieces in a kitchen – all those things we keep in the ‘third drawer down’.
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'Moombara' Photograph by Arthur Wigram Allen, 1904. "5.45 pm on the wharf, Jacob having just caught a large conger eel". Moombara was located on Little Turriell Bay at Port Hacking. © State Library New South Wales call number PX*D 575 negative 921
As we gear up for this year’s Eel Festival at Elizabeth Farm on Sunday 3 March, we are exploring the various ways that eels were cooked and eaten in the past. Continue reading
The 22nd Symposium of Australian Gastronomy: 16-19 November, Parramatta 2018. Design © Max Dingle for gastronomers.au
This past month has provided two wonderful opportunities to break bread with local and international visitors to Sydney and stimulate their appetites for history in themed dining events at Vaucluse House and Elizabeth Farm… Continue reading
Delicious chicken curry at Elizabeth Farm. Photo (c) Scott Hill for Sydney Living Museums
Last week the air at Elizabeth Farm was rich with the aroma of Indian curries cooked on the wood stove. Continue reading
The plundered punchbowl at Sweetness and Light at Elizabeth Farm. Photograph (c) Scott Hill for Sydney Living Museums
Last Friday at Elizabeth Farm we celebrated the connections between Australia’s oldest European house and India with a night of Bengal sugar – and rum punch! Continue reading
Wrapping an eel in Gymea leaf and paper bark, ready for the barbeque at the Eel Festival at Elizabeth Farm. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums
Our free, family-friendly Eel Festival celebrates Parramatta’s namesake, the eel, and its significance to the local Darug people the Burramattagal, who for generations have gathered during eel season to feast, trade and share stories.
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Detail of an advertisement for steam kitchens from Paxtons Philadelphia Annual Advertiser, 1819.
The sweltering days we’ve had recently have put me in mind of a cook standing in front of a roaring open fire. So with that in mind, (drum-roll please) – it’s time to introduce “The most compact, clean, and best cooking apparatus in the whole world!” Continue reading
Spring Harvest at Elizabeth Farm. (c) Sydney Living Museums
What a feast we have in store this weekend! The Food & Words Writers’ Festival returns to the Sydney Mint on Saturday 16 September, and on Sunday Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta present our Spring Harvest Festival. Take your pick – or join us for both! Continue reading