Weekend of firsts & the Gourmet Garden Cook Off

What a wonderful weekend we have just had. Adventures, sunny skies, great company….

Not to mention being a weekend of “firsts”.

Charlotte’s first road trip.

Our first trip to Sydney as a family of three.

C’s first time forward-facing in the Bjorn…

(Which she absolutely LOVED!)

Our first visit to the Good Food & Wine Show…

And my first time cooking in front of a crowd!

Kisses for good luck!

 

Yes – yours truly was lucky enough to make it through to the second round of the Gourmet Garden Blog Off / Cook Off Competition – which involved a “cook off” against a fellow blogger at the Sydney Good Food & Wine Show!

And what a fun adventure it turned out to be!

I was paired to cook off against the wonderful and sweet Andrea, who I found out (in a “small world” moment) actually lives one suburb away from me in Canberra!

I made a quinoa paella (recipe to follow!)– and was relieved when it came together in the 30 minutes we had allocated. For boy did those 30 minutes feel like they disappeared rather quickly, and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t get it finished in time!

And then it was onto the judging – this time not by my family – but by the ever lovely  and talented Sammy and Bella (winners of My Kitchen Rules).

I was so incredibly happy to learn that they loved the paella, and I would be advancing to the next stage of the competition (which takes place in Queensland next year!). Although the fact its a knock out competition is a little sad as it would have been fantastic to advance to the next stage with Andrea, my fellow Canberran!

With the competition all wrapped up, the remainder of our day was spent exploring the Good Food & Wine Show, tasting samples, and stocking up on some favourite foodie items.

I actually wish we had allowed ourselves more time, as it was one impressive show. I couldn’t help but think “so much too see, so little time!”.

And I think the little Miss agreed, as she quite happily took in all the new sights, smells and sounds from the comforts of her carrier (dozing off to sleep when she felt tired).

The “weekend of firsts” continued after the Show,  with Charlotte’s first hotel stay…

Our first GF pizza in Sydney…

Charlotte’s first alfresco breakfast…

Although she did sleep through most of it…

And, not to be forgotten…

Our first trip to Ikea since building our new house! Let’s just say, I am super excited about the items we picked up – and can’t wait to share them with you once we have put them together.

Overall, it  was a wonderful first trip as a family of three. Although there were some stressful moments (the baby meltdown on the long drive home…for example), these were certainly outweighed by all the fun and happy moments we shared together!

A big thankyou to Gourmet Garden for the chance to cook off in front of a crowd. Hopefully I wasn’t too awkward!

What about you? Ever cooked in front of a crowd?