NOTHING breaks down cultural barriers like food.
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That was the lesson learnt by community organisers from the Benevolent Society when they staged Bankstown Pressure Cooks in November last year, an event where residents - inspired by MasterChef - competed to cook food from a culture different from their own.
The event was so popular that organisers are expanding into walking tours of the area's foodie highlights, led by residents with local knowledge and a passion for food.
The project's aim is to create jobs and promote cross-cultural harmony, while highlighting the strengths of one of Sydney's more troubled areas.
''We want to get people who don't live or work in Bankstown into the area, because there tends to be negative stories while there's actually a lot of positive stuff happening,'' Zizi Charida, the organiser, said. ''Food is a great way to introduce people to cultures, and to get people to feel comfortable walking around in new areas.''
The Benevolent Society has made a 10-year commitment to community-building in the Bankstown area, chosen because of its high mortgage stress and crime statistics, as well as low-income families.
Tours are focused on ethnic communities or themed by taste, with suburban food tourists introduced to the secrets of spice purveyors, Lebanese sweet shops, Vietnamese groceries and other food.
Ms Charida, of Greenacre, said the charity is designing the tours to be a social enterprise, training residents to work as guides.
There are big Lebanese and Vietnamese communities in Bankstown, but also Chinese, Greek, Italian, Lithuanian and Croatian populations.
John Ayoub, the owner of the well-known Coffee Emporium - a stop on Saturday's ''Sugar and Spice'' tour - said his shop draws coffee lovers from every culture. ''You get Arabs, Europeans, Australians. I have a small group of Russians who travel half an hour to visit. They're addicted.''
The Benevolent Society is also hosting two progressive ''Sahara Nights'' dinners showcasing the best Middle-Eastern food as part of the festival.
www.cravesydneyfoodfestival.com.au for details
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
100-mile meal at Bathers Pavilion
Nose-to-tail beef degustation at Marque
Musa Dagdeviren's Ciya dinner at Efendy
Go Shu Sake brewery tour
