Indulge your senses at Tastes of Central Geelong 2020 – a month-long festival of food, flavours and fun.
The 2020 Tastes of Central Geelong program has just been released, showcasing the fantastic food on offer during July.
An initiative of Central Geelong Marketing, Tastes this year has been adapted to help residents continue to support local restaurants and cafes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the comfort of your own home you can learn tricks of the trade from local chefs, try exclusive recipes, dine at home or build your own menu. Or you can make your way into Central Geelong to sample gourmet food and drink and join in food-themed activities and offers while adhering to social distancing and health and hygiene rules.
Have some fun exploring Central Geelong as part of the Pick & Mix Tastings. Select the five venues that will become your Pick & Mix ticket and take a self-guided tasting tour at your own pace. Find out more about the Pick & Mix tickets at centralgeelong.com.au/tastes.
Once you receive your five Pick & Mix tokens, you have the whole month of July to visit your chosen businesses. You can do it all in one day or take your time and pop in when it suits throughout the month.
There are Pick & Mix options to suit your appetite – Bite Size or Little Bigger. Both provide great value and help showcase the eateries in Central Geelong.
A Bite Size ticket costs just $15 and gives you five take-away tastings valued at $5 each (total value of $25). Book your ticket at www.trybooking.com/BJRZ
Venues to choose from include:
Augustus Gelatery – Enjoy a single scoop of the delicious artisan gelato made on-site daily in the Gheringhap Street store. There are so many flavours to choose from – favourite classics to something a little out of the ordinary.
Black Bull Tapas Bar & Restaurant – Enjoy a lemon slice and small coffee at this Moorabool Street favourite. Enjoy the holiday buzz, attractive bare brick walls and prompt friendly service.
Hucksters & Co – Enjoy a large coffee made by experienced baristas in this New York-style bakehouse located in James Street. All food and delicious sweets on offer are made in-house and can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch and take-away.
LIC – Lollies, Ice Cream and Coffee – Enjoy a 3-scoop sampler – from Geelong’s original ice cream parlour in Yarra Street. There are more than 37 flavours of gourmet ice cream and gelati sourced from local suppliers. There’s also more than 90 varieties of pick & mix lollies, Scoopshakes and ice cream cakes available in store.
Little Green Corner – Enjoy a Barista Breaky (Espresso, flat white and a filter coffee) from this Little Ryrie Street cafe. Focused on sustainability, the team forage, gather and grow and offer a small menu that changes with the region’s gardens and farms, as well as making many efforts to cut waste.
P&G Bakery Cafe´ – Enjoy a pie and mini slice in this special bakery cafe´ with a relaxed atmosphere. The full menu includes house specialities such as pies, sausage rolls, cupcakes, cakes, slices and tarts, all handmade by the chef in house.
Sweet Cheeks Cocktail & Dessert Lounge (previously known as Stacked) – Enjoy a Cake Tasting Box from this new dessert venue in Yarra Street. The menu includes a huge range of cakes, chocolate mousse, macarons, puddings and cheesecakes for pick-up and delivery.
If it’s too difficult to choose, the Bite Size Mystery Pick gives you a random selection of samplers.
If you think you need something more substantial, then the Pick & Mix – Little Bigger tasting option is the answer. At just $35 it gives you five take-away tastings valued at $10 each – a total value of $50. Bookings (essential): www.trybooking.com/BJSDB
Venues to choose from include:
Black Bull Tapas Bar & Restaurant – Enjoy a choice of taco (calamari, chicken or fried flathead) and a can of soft drink as a sampler of the extensive range of tapas offerings and solid list of entrees and mains on offer at Black Bull.
Mavs Greek Restaurant – Enjoy a small platter including four dips, one meatball, half a sausage and a small spanakopita (spinach pie) from this authentic Greek restaurant in Little Malop Street. Mavs offers fresh homemade Greek cuisine with a combination of smaller dishes designed to share alongside bigger, heartier fare.
Moo Mouth Coffee – Enjoy a four-slice tasting box showcasing the wide range of homemade goodies from this Little Malop Street cafe´. The team at Moo Mouth pride themselves on affordable homemade comfort food.
Parma Bar – Enjoy a tasting platter of entrees from this new Yarra Street restaurant. Parma Bar offers one of the largest menus going around with a selection of bases – including chicken, veal, eggplant or pumpkin – that can be loaded up from 101 different toppings.
Pistol Pete’s Food n Blues – Enjoy a Southern box including five Southern fried chicken bites, five deep fried shrimp and a jambalaya ball from this Southern American, Louisiana and Blues music restaurant in Little Malop Street.
Poke Me – Enjoy a tasting bowl of the Ichiban Salmon bowl showcasing the traditional Hawaiian Poke bowl concept in Little Malop Street where unique Japanese flavours are fused with fresh ingredients.
Twisted Dessert Bar – Enjoy four items from the cabinet from this popular Moorabool Street Dessert Bar offering a fusion of coffee, dessert and cocktails.
Wah Wah Gee – Enjoy two bao buns from the Wah Wah Gee team on Cunningham Pier. There’s a focus on funky, fresh and fun dining with their collection of Asian-inspired dishes.
Wendy’s – Enjoy a Shake & Dog from the Wendy’s Milk Bar in Market Square who aim to deliver the ultimate treat experience to every customer, every time.
There’s also a Mystery Pick option for the Pick & Mix – Little Bigger.
All Pick & Mix tasting options are to be enjoyed takeaway. When planning to visit a participating business, always check opening hours with the business directly. Ticket holders must adhere to social distancing, hygiene and government restrictions at all times when entering a business to redeem their tasting.
Restaurants and cafes need your help to recover as they re-open their doors. There are lots of ways you can show your support – from participating in a Tastes event or offer to booking ahead of time and giving plenty of notice if you need to cancel bookings.
Adding something extra to your order, following your favourites on social media and leaving a review can also help your favourite restaurants.
For the full Tastes of Central Geelong program, to book into Tastes activities and for more information visit www. centralgeelong.com.au/tastes
