Food and wine festival Tasting Australia returns with more fire power in 2018

THERE will be fire, flights, and more Michelin stars than ever before at this year’s Tasting Australia.

Diana Gonzalez and Daniella Guevara, owners of La Popular Taqueria in Port Adelaide, will be cooking with fire at Charred in Victoria Square as part of Tasting Australia. Picture: Matt Turner

• New chartered flights for Tasting Australia explore SA’s best food and wine experiences
• Top cooks reveal what they have learnt from the previous generation

TASTING Australia returns today with more firepower.

The food and wine festival will run for 10 days and boasts an international collection of guest chefs with more Michelin stars than ever before.

It kicks off Friday morning in Victoria Square, where the “Town Square” hub will be filled with the smell of smoke and grilling foods as a mix of 14 stalls from different culinary traditions cook over fire.

The venue will also host tastings, wine masterclasses and the return of the Glasshouse Kitchen series. Nine dinners there will feature elite chefs Rodolfo Guzman (Borago, Chile, number 42 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants), Christian Puglisi (Relae, Denmark, 39) and Mehmet Gurs (Mikla, Turkey, 51) — a line-up made possible by the global connections of programming director Jock Zonfrillo.

Elsewhere, The d’Arenberg Cube Surrealist Ball is sure to be one of the year’s most photographed social events; Maggie Beer will combine her love of food and music in the Barossa; and Tasting Australia Airlines will fly people to regional food destinations.

The 140-event program also includes free attractions such as the Rundle Mall Urban Pantry. Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak was given a preview of the pantry by cheesemaker Kris Lloyd yesterday. “Footballers love to eat, even if we’re on strict diets, there’s no denying that,” Boak said.

Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak with cheese queen Kris Lloyd at the launch of Urban Pantry and Cellar Door in Rundle Mall. Picture: Calum Robertson

Tasting Australia director, Simon Bryant, said this year’s program was “engaging, thought-provoking, authentic and reaches further than ever before”. The Charred vendors in Town Square, he adds, will have something to satisfy “every craving” — including the authentic tacos made by La Popular Taqueria, one filled with pork cooked in a fire pit for 14 hours.

Zonfrillo believes Tasting Australia “is by far the most interesting food festival in Australia right now”.

“From the world’s greatest chefs to regional events that have you back in time for dinner thanks to Tasting Australia Airlines, it’s fair to say this is the festival everyone wants to participate in whether it’s behind the stoves or at the table,” he said.

Tasting Australia runs until April 22. For more information, tastingaustralia.com.au

THE HOT LIST

Five events not to miss at Tasting Australia

1. Celebrated chef Matt Stone joins The Lane’s James Brinklow to prepare a lunch in the winery’s postcard Hills setting. April 20, $200

2. Clare Valley takes on Eden Valley in a battle of the rieslings with master producers including Jeffrey Grosset and Phil Lehmann, as part of the East End Cellars Masterclass. Saturday. $75

3. Italian chef Andrea Toortora from three-star restaurant St Hubertus joins local heroes Simon Bryant and Jyoti Bindu to prepare a vegetarian feast that will convert the most devoted carnivore. Glasshouse Kitchen. Wednesday, April 18, $175

4. All seats aboard the Tasting Australia Airlines flight to Coffin Bay are full — but locals (or those prepared to get there another way) can still sit down to lunch at the yacht club prepared by Duncan Welgemoed and friends in one of the most idyllic settings around. Saturday, $99

5. D’Arenberg Cube Surrealist Ball — Despite a hefty price tag, this dress-up extravaganza sold out in a matter of days. The place to see and be seen. Beg, borrow or steal a ticket if you can.