Media Release
On 3 December, Sydneysiders will be officially welcomed back to the CBD after months of lockdown, with a once in a lifetime lunch celebration to mark the city’s re-opening and return to vibrancy- the George St. Long Lunch Spectacular.
The Destination NSW initiative “Sydney’s Open for Lunch” will see multiple events occur across the city, with the George St. Long Lunch Spectacular as the headline event of the celebrations.
George Street, in the historic heart of Sydney, will for the first time be turned into an alfresco dining room stretching 150 metres alongside the Hilton Sydney, and heritage-listed QVB. 600 diners will be treated to a feast by some of the CBD’s best chefs and restaurateurs, accompanied by some of Sydney’s most talented musical acts and entertainers, whilst seated along the usually busy thoroughfare.
A special collaborative lunch in the middle of the street where trams would usually be running, will instead see diners enjoying canapes and a three-course lunch by four of the city’s best loved restaurants, each representing a different aspect of Sydney dining.
Palisa Anderson (Chat Thai, Boon Luck Farm) will prepare canapés to start, Michael Nicolian of Continental Deli (The Porteño Group) will serve house-made charcuterie plates, and Mike McEnearney (Kitchen by Mike) will serve his legendary roast chicken and pumpkin salad as the main course with Luke Mangan OAM (Glass Brasserie, Hilton Sydney) providing a quintessential summer meringue dessert.
Lunch will be served alongside an all-Australian line up of refreshments, from Gin and Fever-Tree tonics, Heaps Normal, Philter Brewing XPA, to NSW wines and soft drinks.
There will be exciting and unexpected entertainment throughout the afternoon with performances by The George Ellis Orchestra featuring Josh Pyke, George Maple, Brendan Maclean and Liyah Knight, the Roving Hot Potato Band and a special surprise superstar DJ who will get people up and dancing in the street.
Producing the long lunch are two of Australia’s most innovative event programmers; Rizer, who was recently awarded the 2021 Event Agency of the Year and are responsible for designing and producing some of the country’s most Spectacular events of scale and We Are Gather, the team that brought Taste Festivals, Margaret River Gourmet Escape, MasterChef Live and many more renowned chefs to Australia.
Director of Rizer, Barry Wafer said “We feel this is the lunch party that Sydney deserves after all these months of lockdown. We know that people are excited to get back into the city and Rizer is equally excited to bring Spectacular to Sydney and the CBD, to remind them of how we’ve all been missing the vibrancy and brilliance of its restaurants and bars.”
Hannah Pike of We are Gather said “This is such an exciting event for Sydney- there has never been a lunch of this scale in the heart of the city and it’s going to be an extraordinarily memorable afternoon for diners- we think they’ll be talking about it for years to come.”
Canapes by Chat Thai, Palisa Anderson
Tempura eggplant tamarind palm sugar caramel (v) (df)
Mieng tart of mud crab, betel leaf & finger lime
Snapper, black pepper, wild ginger curry puff
Grilled pork skewers (gf) (df)
Sonoma bread, Pepe Saya butter
Entrée by Continental Deli, Michael, Ben & Elvis
Continental charcuterie plate, featuring LPs quality meats.
Smoked mortadella, saucisson, prosciutto di Parma & guindillas
Pickled vegetable barigoule, Romesco sauce (v) (gf)
Main by Kitchen by Mike, Mike McEnearney
Roasted Chicken Vinaigrette, Green Beans & Hazelnuts (df)
Baked Pumpkin, Pomegranate Molasses, Nigella (v) (gf)
Or Zucchini & eggplant moussaka (ve)
Dessert by Glass, Luke Mangan
Summer berries, soft meringue, lemon & custard (gf)
TICKETS ON SALE 10AM, THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBER
George St. Long Lunch Spectacular
Time: 12-3pm, Friday December 3, 2021
Restaurants: Continental Deli, Kitchen by Mike, Chat Thai and Glass Brasserie.
Entertainment: The George Ellis Orchestra feat. Josh Pyke, George Maple, Brendan Maclean and Liyah Knight plus the Hot Potato Band.
Tickets: $60 (plus booking fees), including alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks; available via Ticketek https://www.eventopia.co/event/George-St-Long-Lunch-Spectacular/454208
Event T&Cs:
- The event is 18 plus only – ID will be required on arrival
- Due to the nature of the event – we cannot accommodate dietary requirements. When purchasing your ticket you can choose vegetarian as an option. No late dietary requirements can be submitted after purchasing tickets.
- Tickets include food, non-alcoholic drinks, wine and beer – there is no ticket price for non-drinkers, and there will be soft drink and non-alcoholic beer available on the day
- Guests will need to be double vaccinated to attend, in line with recommendations from the state
- Please note the event is in a long table format and you may be seated next to guests that you don’t know.
- All tickets purchased together will be seated together: the event has allocated seats – we cannot move seats on the day or after tickets have been purchased
About Rizer
“We believe life, if only for a moment, should be spectacular.”
Rizer is an experience agency that exists to tell the extraordinary stories of the most coveted brands in the world.
We are passionate about delivering meticulously planned and beautifully executed experiences; our talented team design and build high concept events across the globe.
Theatrical, brave and breathtaking moments that elicit an emotional reaction, and leave an indelible mark. Moments that are truly spectacular.
In its 16-year history, Rizer has designed and delivered thousands of large scale events for international brands in some of the most iconic and state-of-the-art locations and venues in the world. Our talented teams are the best in the business, and they work alongside some of the most experienced and skilled production and technical suppliers, globally, ensuring we incorporate new and cutting-edge technologies and production advancements into all projects.
Rizer’s excellence in event design and production has been recognised numerous times by the industry and our peers; the agency was recently awarded Event Agency of the Year at the Australian Event Awards in 2021 as well as in 2017 and 2014.
About We Are Gather
We Are Gather is a new culinary events business, created to connect communities and friends through food and drink in unique, safe environments.
Co-founded by the team that invented and brought Gourmet Escape to Margaret River and Taste Festivals across Asia Pacific along with many international chefs from around the world.
With over 35 years of experience between them, founders, Hannah Pike and Naomi Wilson have successfully built multiple, global award-winning events such as Margaret River Gourmet Escape, Taste Festivals (Perth), MasterChef Live, Orana in Residence and Top Gear Live.
Working in international markets and across Australia for many years, their knowledge of the travel, food and drinks industries and their associated events is unrivalled.
