THERE was all manner of weird and wacky food at this year’s Hawkesbury Show, proving novelty-factor extends to snacks on the show route.
For chip fans, there was more than your average hot chips with tomato sauce served in a cup. Twisted Chips were a thing, as were Chips on a Stick.
Vendor Frances said Twisted Chips were made using a special machine they call ‘the driller’. Put a whole peeled spud into the apparatus, crank the handle and out come potato spirals. Drop them into batter, scoop them into a deep-fry basket and dunk them into hot oil until crispy.
“You can choose different toppings - cheese, gravy, barbeque and tomato sauce. Cheese and gravy together tastes beautiful,” she said.
She was expecting to go through two kilograms of potatoes every lunchtime, and ten kilograms throughout the weekend.
There was a line stretching down the road for giant turkey legs and pork knuckles, caramelised until golden on a huge barbeque plate and then drenched in ladlefuls of soupy gravy.
Of course, deep-fried foods were hot property, including the ubiquitous Dagwood Dog. One food van played a jingle on rote: ‘Taste em, try em, come on try our Dagwood Dogs’.
Deep-fried goodness extended to sweets: one vendor’s entire business was based around selling deep-fried Oreos, along with donuts and ice-cream sundaes. Oreos were dipped in cake mix, deep-fried, drizzled with chocolate sauce and dusted with icing sugar.
Other show foods included the ever-popular corn on a cob (dipped in melted butter and sprinkled with salt), chocolate-dipped bananas and strawberries, fresh lemonade stands, hot dogs and burgers, pulled pork and beef rolls, nachos and German sausages.
Of course, there was also fairyfloss galore, waffles, lollipops, snowcones, and all the lollies and sweets from all those showbags.