Bankstown Bites: Celebrity chefs Karima Hazim, ‘Big’ Sam Young, Arnott Olssen set to shine at food festival

Three celebrity chefs and Bankstown locals are set to shine at this year’s Bankstown Bites food festival. Here are some of the best bargains on offer.

Celebrity chefs Arnott Olssen, Karima Hazim and 'Big' Sam Young. Pictures: Supplied

What’s one way to give back to a southwestern Sydney community that helped raised you and shape you into the person you’ve become?

Cook them some slap-tastic food and feed them at a local festival.

This is exactly what ‘Big’ Sam Young, Karima Hazim and Arnott Olssen are setting out to do Saturday for Bankstown Bites which is celebrating its 20th anniversary showcasing the best multicultural food stalls.

“I’m really excited because I grew up in Bankstown for my whole life,” Ms Hazim told this masthead.

“My dad was a hairdresser and he had a salon there for 40 years. He was a big member of the community. He cut every mayor’s hair, all the judges at the court, all the police officers.

Sunday Kitchen founder Karima Hazim. Picture: Supplied

“I don’t live there anymore but it’s somewhere I still travel to once a week to get my ingredients from.

“And you know, going back to where all of my food memories started like catching the train after school and getting a manoosh from the bakeries, to going to Chinatown where all the Vietnamese restaurants and little eateries are. They were all my founding memories of food.”

Mr Young stressed that the best way for people to explore cultures was through food and festivals.

“Australia is like a big melting pot of other cultures. And I think it’s all about that celebration,” he said.

“In every city there is a suburb of something. There’s always a suburb of Korean, of Chinese, of Indian. There’s always a suburb of culture which is why I think, in my opinion, this is one of the best cities in the world.”

S'more Bistro's 'Big' Sam Young. Picture: Supplied

Ms Hazim and Mr Young will be competing against each other in a cook off, showcasing their culinary skills with a mouth watering dish each.

And while he does create some delicious dishes, Mr Olssen will instead be cooking up some spicy beats as the festival’s MC.

A role he was more than happy to step into, as he’d previously done a pop up two years ago.

“So back into 2023 I went back and did a cooking demo at the festival. It was lovely to go back home and this year I’m doing something completely different. I’ll be hosting and I’ll be singing as well,” he said.

Arnott Olssen. Picture: Supplied

“When they (Canterbury-Bankstown Council) asked if (I) would MC, I was like ‘yes’ since it’s their 20th anniversary.”

The festival will be at Olympic Parade Griffith Park on Saturday from 10am until 4pm, with a special pre-event kicking off on Friday at the Arts Centre.

And while it can be overwhelming to decide what to stuff your face with, certain stalls have some deals to make your wallet cry less.

Dessert Hole has two specials going on: buy a cheese bomb and get the second one free, along with $5 fried açaí with any purchase.

To celebrate Spudhole’s first birthday, they’ll be giving away free party bags of lollies.