Good Food Shopping Guide

Hungarian tiramisu:

Layers of roasted hazelnuts, walnuts, choc chips, pastry and light cream. Sold at Wellington Cake Shop, Bondi.

Nick Palumbo, left, and Donato Toce of Messina Gelato in Darlinghurst. Photo: Marco Del Grande

Pavlova gelato:

Possibly the best expression of the pav we have tasted: creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness from fruit and a whimsical smattering of meringue. From Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst.

Traditional Afghan bread: 

Wellington Cake Shop's tempting range. Photo: Jon Reid

Made the way they make it back home, fresh from the hand-made clay oven at the Afghan and Arab Bakery, Fairfield.

Cheeses that go beyond boring:

 Where do we start? How about goat's milk gorgonzola or Valtellina aged in a cave in Lombardy from Formaggi Ocello, Darlinghurst. Or Australian buffalo ricotta and mozzarella from Paesanella Latticini Cremeria, Haberfield. Or Greek kasseri mizithra and kefalograviera plus more kinds of feta than you ever thought possible at Earlwood Wines, Earlwood.

Organic wine:

 Michelle Gadd stocks about 140 organic, biodynamic or preservative-free wines on her website, and delivers. Check out the annual Medal Winners Pack at organicwine.com.au.

A new breakfast topping:

 Silan is a date syrup produced in Israel around the Dead Sea. It is exceptional on porridge or bircher muesli, or use it in desserts. Find it at Starks, Grandma Moses and Krinsky's in the Bondi kosher belt.

Rosetta pasta:

 Scrolls of silky pasta wrapped around ham and doused in a tomato and bechamel sauce. A freezer standby from Adamo's Pasta, Rosebery.

Pep in your step:

 Peppery rau dang or bitter mint is used by Vietnamese cooks such as chef Luke Nguyen in hot pot dishes and noodle soups. You'll find this and other medicinal herbs at Bele greengrocer in Cabramatta.

Organic pork:

 Pasture Perfect organic pork from well-treated pigs. Buy it as cuts or smallgoods or in a caramelised beetroot and smoked chilli sausage. These are good enough to seduce a vegetarian. Go to Dulwich Hill Gourmet Meats, Dulwich Hill.

Ultimate Middle Eastern sweet:

 Mafrouki is a fudgy slab of semolina topped with a tangy, cooked cream and rosewater syrup. Drool over it at Lebanese pastry palaces such as Farouk El Bahsa & Sons, Auburn; or Patisserie Arja, Lakemba.

Schwartzwalder schinken:

 Black Forest ham is a peerless German smallgood in the hands of master makers such as Bavarian Smallgoods and Butcher, Ermington; or Brot & Wurst, North Narrabeen; or Rudi's Continental Butchery, Kirrawee.

The best Spanish rice:

 It's called Bomba, it's related to a strain originally taken to Spain by the Moors and once you've cooked with it, you'll never use anything else. At Broadway Cellars, Glebe.

Ethical foie gras:

  Edouard de Souza in Spain doesn't force-feed his geese, he lets them do what comes naturally, be gluttons at migration time. Find it at Terry Wright's Gourmet Meats, Randwick.

Best bacalhau (bacalao if you're Spanish, baccala in Italian):

  Historically this was dried codfish from Newfoundland, today it's mainly from Norway and it's sold in Sydney's Little Portugal, Petersham, at of all places, the Italian-run Charlie's Deli. Best belly cuts come in at Easter and Christmas.

Fresh bam dates:

 You'll understand how desert travellers quenched their thirst when you try these juicy beauties from Iran. Go to Al Jamil in Fairfield or Aria Store in North Parramatta. Buy them in peak season.

Haggis as good as in Scotland:

  Go to Hill's Butchery at Maroubra or Scottish Fare at St Marys where it's sold from one to three kilograms.

Asafoetida:

 You'll find three forms of this strange and useful gum, hailed as an anti-flatulent, at Grahame's Place in Yagoona, a remarkable warehouse of sub-continental foods on a suburban street.

An islander feast:

 Head to Bula Food Supplies, Granville, or Fiji Market, Newtown, and gather plantains, breadfruit, okra, taro and tinned corned beef.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Chris Hazell and David Furley, Chefs' Warehouse

Advertisement: Story continues below

For more than 30 years, Chris Hazell and David Furley have supplied kitchen hardware to the cooks of Sydney. For all that time, they've shared their love of excellence, tradition and innovation, and generously ladled out their knowledge to apprentices and stars alike. Over the years, Hazell and Furner have seen them come and seen them go. With tongue firmly in cheek, Hazell says “our fortune is based upon the comings and the goings of these restaurants.” From Gastronomia Chianti to L'Aubergade to Marque and Bird Cow fish, Chefs' Warehouse has sold them their knives and pots and pans and plates and Robot Coupes. If you want to know who's shaky or who's doing well, ask Chris or David who's paying their bills.

Joe Antico Young Achiever Award

Nikky Tsang, Gelatiamo

Guided by his father, Thomas, the young Nikky Tsang is an eager, enthusiastic exponent of the art of iced confection. He has a curious mind, a thoughtful palate and an impressive studiousness. creations. Nikki, wise beyond his years, pays attention to the two main gelato attributes, flavour and texture. When he wanted to make a coffee gelato, he made it with Illycaffe, a double shot espresso in each cone. He keeps himself fit for the business by body building. We look forward to seeing his future

Best Service

Sweet Belem, Petersham

Warm, attentive and consistently smiling, no matter who is behind the counter. John de Almeida is the reliant baker whose smiling face you'll see peeking out from the kitchen under his trademark trilby. This is where you find the pasteis de nata, the Portuguese tarts that remind you of what the fuss is all about. De Almeida makes them the way they should be made. Out front is his wife and childhood sweetheart, Lina who runs the place so graciously. They're both from the Lisbon suburb of Belem, and this little place is a tribute to their home.

Regional Hero

Totally Local, Orange

Pick up a bottle of Orange Highland Wines Rose and co-owner Ellen Howard will say: “That's actually my neighbour.” Her business partner, Jewels Farrell, will pipe up: ”My husband David and I helped plant the grapes.” The other partner is Graham Smith. Sticking within a 100-mile radius this 'every day farmers' market' is housed in a big shed just out of town. They stock a wide range of local produce, from the best selling goat meat to fruit and veg including stone fruits in season. Regular wine and produce tastings and online shopping soon to come.

Champion Retailer

Fourth Village, Mosman

Peter Quattroville, who owns Fourth Village, was an early adopter of the Food Store trend with his Four Olives Deli in Manly that he ran for three years from 2000. He installed a cheese room, prepared food and bottled his own olive oils. Then he sold Four Olives and went on a travel spree for five years, walking the streets of New York and admiring stores such as Dean & DeLuca and Balducci's. His retirement was cut short by his oldest son, John, who convinced his dad to take on a massive, run-down art deco building and transform it into a market, grocery, deli, kitchen and restaurant. Like their food store compatriots, the Quattrovilles honour honest produce. "We have a farm and we understand what it is like to bring food to the table," says Peter, whose last name translates to that of the enterprise.

Best Retail Experience

Victor Churchill, Woollahra

Where else will you find tourists ogling a shop? A butcher shop already. A butcher shop with a concierge and a display window more like a jewellery store. Victor Puharich and his son Anthony have joined forces to give Sydney a butcher shop like no other in what was one of Sydney's oldest butcher shops, Churchill's. Victor trained as a butcher in Croatia and Anthony brings along the business knowhow with a degree in finance and commerce. Together, they've created a butcher shop like no other, the first in Sydney with a French chef and a chef's table.

Other awards:

Best Asian

Taste, Cabramatta

Best Bread

Central Baking Depot, city

Best Butchers and Poulterers

Victor Churchill, Woollahra

Best Cakes, Biscuits and Pastries

Adriano Zumbo, Balmain

Best Cheese

Balmain Gourmet Grocer, Balmain

Best Chocolate

Boon Chocolates, Darlinghurst

Best Coffee

Allpress, Rosebery

Best Deli

Lina's Deli, Bankstown

Best Fish

Fine Fish, Neutral Bay

Best Food Stores

Forestway Fresh, Terrey Hills

Best Greengrocers

Galluzzo's, Glebe

Best Ice Cream & Gelato

Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst

Best Markets

Northside Produce Market, North Sydney

Best Organic

Summer Hill Organic Fruit Market, Summer Hill

Best Pasta

Pasta Emilia

Best Smallgoods

Brot & Wurst

Best Tea

Pine Tea & Coffee

Best Takeaway

Victor Churchill, Woollahra

Best Wine

Australian Wine Centre