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For a long time, Australian and British cuisines were inseparable. Today, few cities can match Sydney for variety. Thanks to its location, Sydney has access to Asian produce to compliment its world famous beef and lamb. An obsession with freshness and quality is reflected in the growing number of certified organic and biodynamic producers. There is no Australian cuisine as such, though as a food ritual, the barbecue is king.

As with many things here, a fusion of different cultures gives ‘modern Australian’ cuisine – a meeting of the best of the west and east. You will find elements from Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Thai, Malay, French and Vietnamese restaurants can be found in the city and Middle Eastern, Moroccan and Lebanese flavours are increasing in popularity.

You can also find ‘bush tucker’ in the city’s best restaurants, with wild foods such as bunya nuts, Kakadu plums and warrigal (a spinach-like green). Specialty meats include crocodile and Northern Territory buffalo. Yabbies, a kind of crayfish, are very popular. The local caviar is very tasty, as are barramundi, prawns and Sydney rock oysters.

Before 1970, most of the food served in restaurants reflected the English history of the country. By the early 1980’s, relaxed immigration laws saw Vietnamese, Malaysian, Korean, Thai, Chinese and Indian influences.

At the same time, the wine industry was developing. By the end of the 1970s, vineyards all over the southern half of Australia were producing wines that could hold their own against the best in the world. The principal wine-producing areas are in South Australia’s Barossa Valley; the Hunter Valley in New South Wales; and Victoria’s Yarra Valley. Margaret River in Western Australia produces fine wines too.

Shiraz is the most widely produced grape, followed by chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. Some of the big producers and their brands are: BRL Hardy, which produces Berri Estates and Hardys; Southcorp which makes Penfolds and Lindemans; and the Orlando Wyndham Group, which produces Jacob’s Creek and Wyndham Estate.

Sydney also has a number of celebrity chefs. Guillaume Brahimi presides at Guillaume at Bennelong (see p.325) in the Opera House. Tim Pak Poy can be found at The Wharf Restaurant at the end of Pier 4 in The Rocks. Neil Perry’s restaurant, Rockpool, ranked 30th in Restaurant Magazine’s world top 50 for 2006. Luke Mangan is executive chef at Glass Brasserie (see p.325) in the Hilton, while Tetsuya Wakuda’s Tetsuya’s (see p.332) was ranked fifth in Restaurant Magazine’s world top 50 for 2006.