Taste le Tour 2012: 21 Stages of Eating for the Tour de France

Imagine if there was a Tour de France for eating. Wait a minute. There. is. Last weekend I was invited along to Taste le Tour, a 21-course epic feast that mirrors the cuisine and wine of each stage of this annual professional cycling race.

This Taste le Tour is the brainchild of Alyssa and Mark, two food obsessives who are equally besotted with the Tour de France. Each year they invite their

Beejay's and Vesbar Espresso, Marrickville

Pork belly for breakfast? How could I refuse?

We had plans to explore the recent spate of new cafes to open in Marrickville, a growing army of caffeine warriors now jostling for space among the pho noodle houses and Asian grocery stores. It feels more like Surry Hills than Marrickville Mauler territory these days, and Beejay's is one of the newest kids on the block.


Beejay's counter

At

Chica Bonita, Manly

The Sydney CBD has its small bars, but so too it seems, does Manly. We walk right past Chica Bonita at first, eventually doubling back and taking a hunch by walking down an unposted arcade. Its hidden location may stump the blow-ins, but locals have already discovered this week-old Mexican joint, and at 6pm on a Friday we score the last table in this tiny 20-seater.

Mates Luke and Sean are

Truffle hunt at the Canberra Truffle Festival

Truffles. There are few things in this world that elicit as much excitement and wonder than this elusive fungi. New Zealand truffle expert Gareth Renowden described their smell as like "old socks and sex". Truffles have a damp earthy mustiness that is strangely alluring. Their smell is said to be similar to the pheromones released by a male pig on heat. This is why female pigs are so keen to

Strawberry Fields Patisserie, Dulwich Hill

So Marrickville is the current hip and happening suburb of the inner west, but what about its neighbour, Dulwich Hill? Before the hipsters discovered Marrickville, it was Dulwich Hill that basked in all the glory, from long-time locals' favourite Minh Vietnamese restaurant to the (sadly relocated) Eumundi Smokehouse.


Double shot flat white $3.40

Strawberry Fields Patisserie is part of the