When Matt Preston, Matt Moran, fresh food and a fast Ferrari collide

WHEN Matt Preston, Matt Moran, fresh food and fast cars collide, a mega week behind celebrity lines is a certainty

2015 delicious awards

DELICIOUS magazine scored quite the culinary coup as a gang of canaped crusaders gathered to hear who took home their annual Produce Awards.

Also celebrating their 10th anniversary, the VIP foodie event in the new Bennelong restaurant at the Sydney Opera House drew a huge gang of producers and food fans from around the country.

Some of Australia’s most renowned chefs and industry leaders joined the Delicious crew at the annual ceremony, the awards designed to celebrate the country’s most outstanding produce and producers, farmers’ markets, innovators, emerging chefs and food regions.

“After 10 years, the Delicious Produce Awards are undoubtedly the most credible and exciting food awards in Australia. We’re proud to support Australia’s incredible stable of producers, bringing them to the attention of industry heavyweights and the Australian public,” said Delicious editor-in-chief Kerrie McCallum.

The Delicious awards continue to champion the best Australian produce and the people behind it, thanks to readers who nominate their local ‘produce’ heroes. The insight of a national judging panel (pictured below and including Matt Moran, Valli Little, Christine Manfield, Alla Wolf-Tasker, Maggie Beer and Shannon Bennett) make up the judging mix.

“Every year I am blown away by the produce presented for judging. I love the constant surprises you get. The Delicious Produce Awards do so much for the Australian food scene, it’s so exciting.” said produce awards patron, Maggie Beer.

This year’s winners are innovating in the area of everyday products — chicken, cheddar and milk — bringing an entirely new dimension to Australian food staples.

Guests were treated to a menu created by chef Peter Gilmore and his new Bennelong team, inspired by produce from this year’s winners and finalists. Yup, it was a foodie paradise.

By the way, the complete story and full list of winners and medallists will appear in the August issue of Delicious.

I’ve got a fast car ...

Woo-hoo. I got lucky last weekend and got to drive a very, very, very fast car.

The incredibly trustworthy folk from Ferrari invited me to test run their Californian and while I am no bona fide car critic (Jeremy Clarkson, you are safe) man, she is a beautiful beast.

The only sting? You put your foot down and you’re up around 100ks in a matter of seconds and in the stop-start of city streets, soooo frustrating.

That small pace perfection aside, the stares, the glances, the looks you get when you drive a serious show-off car gave me a ridiculously good ego boost. Driving to the Blue Mountains from Sydney made that en-route pit-stop into McDonalds taste that bit nicer.

Meanwhile, the newest in a conga line of very speedy vehicles was unleashed with an A-team event at the Inglis Stables in Sydney, hosted by Ferrari. The new Ferrari 488GTB is a mechanical monster — in the nicest sense of the word.

Fans and followers were treated to a mega soiree to herald the arrival of the latest to Aussie roads. Unfortunately it doesn't hit our shores until 2017, so save your half a million for now. Or go buy a very small house instead.

And the show goes on at the Helpmann awards

Todd McKenney did a brilliant bob hosting the annual Helpmann Awards — the Aussie ‘Oscars’ of the entertainment, theatre and musical biz.

McKenney, who is also a star of musical theatre and Dancing With the Stars, hosted the awards at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre which drew the cream of the country’s performing arts industry.

Presenters included Cate Blanchett, Danielle Cormack and Marta Dusseldorp — could Cate look any more chic in her Carl Kapp dress? As for Danielle in a killer tux? Total class.

You can read all the Helpmann winners here.

Originally published as When Matt Preston, Matt Moran, fresh food and a fast Ferrari collide