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Tasmanian octopus, fennel, squid ink, xo chilli & red vinegar from Automata chef Clayton Wells
Credit: Automata/Instagram

Lights and music are arguably the main sensory draw cards at Vivid Sydney, the city’s annual symposium on art, performance, ideas and crowd management. But what of the all-important palette, especially for those who prefer the lights of heat lamps over the pass to the blinding lights of the bridge?

Now in its second year, Sydney Table – and in an all-important collaboration with Carriageworks – is one of the festival’s epicurean programming highlights, bringing together as it does some of the dining scene’s most exciting names, including chefs both established and peripatetic alike.

Each of the four bespoke dining experiences will take place this year at the arts precinct’s newly-launched venue The Clothing Store, a venue that houses six artists’ and one architectural studio’s yearlong residencies. Curated by Carriageworks Farmers Market Creative Director Mike McEnearney (also of No.1 Bent Street), participating chefs include former Berta chef O Tama Carey, whose Lankan Filling Station project occupies a regular space at the weekly Carriageworks farmers’ market while it awaits a permanent home; critically-acclaimed Automata chef Clayton Wells, whose work at his first restaurant in Chippendale is a visual and literal feast; Ben Sears, late of the brilliant Korean bistro Moon Park; and James Viles, head chef from Southern Highland institution Biota Dining.

Creative director Tony Assness, who worked as a ‘party design consultant’ on The Great Gatsby, will wield those talents to pair each chef with artists, designers and musicians that elevate this dinner party in the realm of the unforgettable. Naturally, wine (and assorted beverage) pairings are a given for each of the three courses.

You can find out more about the Sydney Table dinners and book tickets here.

Tile and cover image: Courtesy of Carriageworks