It’s winter in Sydney and getting those Aussies out when the temperature drops below 15 degrees can be a challenge! However with the cold month of June rolling around, once again Merivale bars across the city are offering 49% off any drink 5-7pm all week.

With this in mind, I popped a date in the diary for our admin and finance team to go and lap up the cheap drinks following another busy week at work. This Friday evening we left the office to meet at Palings, one of the Merivale bars which is part of The Ivy complex just off of George street.

Of course the bar was heaving as everyone scrambled to get their drinks in before the bell, many of us finding ourselves double parked! Being one of the most popular CBD bars for city workers, there was a bustling atmosphere which made for a fun night out with my colleagues. Cheers Merivale!

Last week I got to see my hard work pay off as we hosted the quarterly year agency social at my office. After a month of planning and pulling together the team to organise our event, I was thrilled with how the evening went down. Taking inspiration from a traditional pub complete with a professional MC trivia host, we promised the agency a night of beer and burger fuelled tomfoolery! 

As my first time co-ordinating an event, I learnt a lot in the process of organising through to executing a large party of this kind. Whilst I had the support of my team and delegated tasks to even the workload, there were a number of hurdles along the way. With a tight budget and over 50 employees to keep happy, we had to make cuts where we could. Consequently we decided to hold the event at our offices where we have a balcony on which the marquee was assembled. Once the tables were dressed and fairy lights were up, the setting was perfect and meant people only had to walk upstairs from their desks to join the party.

After a hectic day of running around overseeing preparations and ensuring everything was in place, that first sip of bubbles was bliss and an absolute relief to finally be enjoying the evening myself. Everyone was so complementary of my efforts and following all the excitement of the trivia, celebrations and antics continued late into the night.

Of course there were little touches such as the table layouts and presentation of food which I would’ve liked to have been more thought out. However with the budget and time frame we had to achieve all of this, I was over the moon with our success.

Most importantly I learnt a lot from the experience and found the pleasure of seeing everyone enjoy the occasion even more rewarding… pass me the prosecco and cue the wobbly eyes 😉

And so another public holiday rolls around bringing with it an extra long four day weekend…cue a marathon of festivities with family and friends enjoying far too much wine and copious amounts of food!

Kicking things off in the office, we hosted an Easter themed morning tea with a spread of hot cross buns, hundreds of chocolate eggs and the obligatory mimosas. I was surprised to see alternative hot cross buns flavoured with apple and cinnamon or chocolate chip – I prefer the classic English style packed with juicy fruits, popped in the toaster and covered in lashings of strawberry jam.

On Good Friday I was invited to the family BBQ in Maroubra where my in-laws treated us to an afternoon and evening packed full of food. As one of the entres, I helped my cousin bake the cob loaf which is a dish definitely not for the faint hearted! Made by hollowing out the centre of the bread and then pouring a mixture of mozzarella, cream cheese, spinach and seasoning inside, the cob is baked in the oven to melt the cheese and crisp up the removed bread pieces for dipping. The result is the most irresistible, mouth-watering pool of cheese perfect for dunking bread, crackers or even veg sticks. Once the cheese was all finished, it was time to break open the remains of the crust which had soaked up all that tasty filling.

As Catholics they traditionally don’t eat meat on Good Friday, so the theme of the night was seafood. First up were tiger prawns so fresh that they were a deep red in colour and only needed a squeeze of lemon to compliment the flavours. Onto the BBQ and the octopus was expertly seared in a light sauce. I think this was some of the best octopus I’ve ever had as it can be easy to overcook and turn chewy, but this meat was deliciously succulent.

Finally sitting down to the beautifully laid dinner table, first course was mussels. These were cooked simply in a tomato marinara sauce to let the taste of the scrumptious mussels come through.

Main course was salmon seared on the BBQ to achieve that crispy skin. Everyone made their contribution of sides including exquisite salads and even a creamy, golden potato bake which I simply couldn’t resist. 

To finish off this indulgent evening of sensational food, my uncle served up his famous homemade lemon cheesecake topped with raspberries and whipped cream. Just when I thought I couldn’t fit another bite in, I proceeded to have almost three slices of the cake! This was the perfect end to a truly exceptional night of food which I don’t regret a minute of. I am truly thankful for my family’s hospitality and the unforgettable Easter feast we shared together.