If you ask attendees about iconic staples of the Sydney Royal Easter Show, among show bags, animals, and rides, they’re likely to list food on a stick.
From sweet desserts like fairy floss and chocolate strawberries, to savoury snacks like dagwood dogs and cheese on a stick, everywhere you turn there is something on a stick for you to enjoy when in attendance. During my time at the Easter Show I had one big question on my mind- WHY a stick? Is it perhaps for the convenience and portability of being able to eat on the go? Does the unusual serving format provide extra whimsy and an overall improved eating experience? On Show Radio last week I set out on a journey to answer these questions and sample some of the Show’s Culinary offerings served on a stick.
Accompanied by my fellow classmates Lachlan and Mark, and Royal Agriculture Society Member Joesphine Rose, we started at entrance of the hub of Easter Show food- the Woolworths Fresh Food Dome and began with Cheese on a Stick.
We then followed with another classic- fairy floss, and the group unanimously agreed the stick was a crucial element of this snack. The stick is part of the preparation process, being spun round itself in the sugar spinner, and the stick helps to avoid sticky fingers and aids in portability. So far, everyone was in full agreement that sticks are the way to go. We pushed deeper into the Dome.
The impressive sight of a Chocolate fountain drew us in, and a chocolate strawberry was swifty bought, and devoured. The stick format began to present itself as limiting in nature- as Lachlan observed “It comes on a stick but they give it to you on a container, which seems counterproductive, maybe if you had the strawberries in a bowl and they gave you the stick to skewer the strawberry that would have been better.” Was the stick truly applicable to every food item?
Mark indulged himself in a savory Turkey Leg- which he argued is ‘natures stick’. He argued the stick augmented the eating experience “it gave it a smokier flavor. Thats the problem with these wooden sticks, there is no extra flavor for that. The turkey bone keeps it juicy, moist and delicious”.
But our stick journey didn’t end there, as we delved deeper into our hunt for food on a stick, we came across more and more weird and wacky food like Mac and Cheese on a Stick. This was where the stick conundrum truly began to present itself. Mac and cheese, typically served in a bowl with a fork, was now fried together into three balls on a thick wooden chopstick. This serving style caused a range of hurdles among the group. Josephine’s mac and cheese fell off the stick, completely losing all structural integrity within the first minute of purchase. Lachlan’s mac and cheese was too cold and unevenly cooked, not getting a consistent cook in the deep fryer. Mine was too hot, burning my top lip upon first bite, and I held my mac and cheese for five whole minutes before dusting it off. A dawning realisation was beginning to emerge that perhaps sticks aren’t always superior. Josephine remarked that “the mac and cheese would have been better had it not been on a stick”.
Our final stick disappointment came with one of the only vegan food options available at the easter show- plain strawberry on a stick. The vendor left the tops of the strawberries on, meaning that to eat it you have to pull the berry off the stick regardless. This demonstrated how there was no functional purpose behind the stick presentation, and it was purely a gimmick. This didn’t sit right with the group, with Joesphine concluding that “The food on a stick started as a wonderful, practical thing to allow people to enjoy the environment of the Sydney Royal Easter Show- but its gone too far.”
We started with fairy floss, dagwood dogs, and turkey legs- fair food classics where the stick is a crucial element to the functionality and flavour of the dish. However, the food on a stick has been gimmick-ified, and not all foods should be on a stick, as it can hinder their flavour and functionality. When heading to the show next year, I implore you to think critically about the food on a stick and examine whether they all truly deserve their stick presentation. If the stick is not the food’s typical serving style, it’s probably for a reason.
#StickGate
