Here in Australia we eat outdoors regularly.
Whether it is to put on BBQ in the back yard, head to a picnic area or eat at an outdoor café or restaurant - there is something very special about consuming food in the open air.
BBQ – this is a must if you want to pass the cooking over to your partner, and since I do, we BBQ often!!!! Don’t worry, Mr G enjoys it and he has been all decked out with his very own BBQ apron and special BBQ tools. And somehow the whole experience of organising and preparing is less frantic than the ‘sit down’ meal at the dining room table. The word BBQ instils relaxation. People arrive comfortably dressed, usually bringing a salad, dessert or alcohol, and they don’t expect perfection from the host. Oh, how I love a BBQ. The experience will be all about getting together and relaxing.
We Australians are just about as perfect as you can get when it comes to BBQ know how. From day one we have learnt how to carry around a plate piled high with sausages, salad and coleslaw, a drink, a piece of bread and a serviette without dropping anything. We are skilled “balancers” as we negotiate around the paper plate perched on quivering knees and the wine glass hooked into position by our small finger.
As you wend your way around the local streets in Sydney during a sunny weekend, the air filled with the aroma of sizzling BBQ steaks, prawns, sausages, fish, chops, octopus, etc ……and your walk then becomes a mouthwatering aromatherapy session.
So BBQ’s are a number one choice of Outdoor Eating here in Australia.
OUT DOOR CAFES AND RESTAURANTS - Even our ritziest restaurants have sun drenched courtyards that allow you to eat sumptuous meals while drinking in your Vitamen D. Places such as Doyles, which are renowned fish restaurants here in Sydney, have vast outdoors areas. But you do pay though for their beautiful food and ambience whilst overlooking glorious harbour views.
But in downtown suburbs, you can sit outside just about any café, and even with traffic whipping by your nose, and still enjoy the experience because it sort of imbues freedom and relaxation.
PICNICS: Australians are generally outdoor people and because eating outdoors comes naturally to us, picnics are the grand outdoor experience. We go to local parks or drive to far off National Parks or beaches to ‘eat out’. Armed with baskets of picnic food, rugs, fold up chairs and the required fly repellent (never forget that) we can gather together friends and family from far a field and nobody is landed with the job of hosting. You can of course go the whole hog and have table, chairs, delicatessen delights and bottles of champagne, but still have the sense of relaxation and freedom.
Since we live in a beautiful sunny country, and as many of us are couped up in offices all week, we like to do everything we can outdoors during the weekend.
Everyone can unwind and relax when the meal is outdoors and also have the added benefit of fresh air and sun. What could be nicer than that!!
