"It has become a real attraction for foodies from all over Sydney and beyond," Ms Kerry Sebio, events manager of the newly merged City of Canterbury-Bankstown council, tells SBS Greek of the 'Bankstown Bites' festival.
Bankstown is one of the most diverse Local Government Areas in New South Wales in terms of its multicultural synthesis.
In its tapestry there are more than 120 languages spoken across the merged City of Canterbury-Bankstown with Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Urdu and Greek among the top languages, besides English, spoken in the home.
It is no surprise then that the area can boast of having such a great variety of shops, traditions and of course - cuisines.
The annual multicultural food festival named 'Bankstown Bites' takes place on a Saturday every July around the Olympic Parade precinct (between Dale parade and Marion street, in front of the Canterbury-Bankstown Arts Centre), a five minute walk from Old Town Plaza and the Bankstown Railway station.
"This is where the conversation begins."
This commercial area contains an ethnic mix of Arabic, Vietnamese, Greek, Indian shops as well as of other cultural backgrounds, which turns into a hub of delicious delights for the event, attracting people not only from Bankstown, but beyond, as far as the Blue Mountains and the South and Central coasts of New South Wales.
The aim of the event, which has run for the last 13 years, is to promote harmony and respect among the different nationalities and cultures that make up the area as well to showcase that this particular are can be a paradigm of people’s co-existence, despite the variety of cultures, languages, religions, customs and…eating habits.
“I don’t think we can underestimate the power of food that brings us together," says Ms Sebio, emphasizing that food becomes a mechanism to unite all peoples.
“It really does unite us," she says.
"I think the outcomes for having a food festival is that this is where the conversation begins."
"There is nothing better than sitting back and watching the interaction and the connections that take place just because of food and over food."
Members of the local and wider Sydney community are invited to attend the event so they can be able to get a taste of foods and sweets from the Arabic lands like Lebanon and Egypt, from Vietnam, China, Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan, Hungary and Germany to name a few.
Dishes that will be available to try this year will include Turkish gozleme, Korean-Mexican tacos, Asian dumplings, Japanese gyoza, Spanish Paella, Hungarian beef goulash, German sausages, Egyptian koshari, Hawaiian shrimp, American-style corn pockets, chicken wings and ice-cream Sundays, French sweet and savoury crepes and Greek sweets plus more as well as a competition with cupcakes which is organised by the local well-known Greek cake shop establishment “Sweet Fantasy”.
SBS Radio will be at the 'Bankstown Bites' Multicultural Food Festival with and teams this Saturday 29 July from 10.00am-4.00pm at Olympic Parade Bankstown. The event will feature food tours, cooking demonstrations and food stalls from around the globe.
