Comfort Food Cabaret | Adelaide Fringe 2021 review

Singer Michelle Pearson’s band and a team of Weber grill masters cook up a storm. Beware, you may leave smelling like charcoal.

Comfort Food Cabaret

Comfort Food Cabaret

Cabaret / SA

Rating: ****1/2

The Weber Grill Academy

Until March 14

You know you’re on to a winner when a decent chunk of the audience has seen the show before. Or, as the lady next to me whispered, “This is my fourth time!”

It speaks volumes about performer Michelle Pearson who is endearing from the moment she hits the stage in a beguiling black sequined jumpsuit and a beaming smile.

On stage with her musical back-up (a drummer, a bass player and a keyboardist) is a bunch of Webers and a team of grill masters who cook up a storm as the show progresses.

As Pearson belts her way through a collection of songs (all food-related and based on popular hits), the team preps a tasty eggplant entree, a Middle Eastern chicken pack and a delectable dessert – all cooked on the Webers.

It’s part cabaret, part cooking lesson, part feast, and all party. Time flies during the 75-minute show, largely due to Pearson’s engaging stories of motherhood, failed dates, and late night 24-hour-Villi’s cafe experiences.

Her lyrics are witty in her play on recognisable tunes such as power ballad It’s All Coming Back to Me Now (an ode to Uber Eats), Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone, Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High.

The food is great, Pearson’s singing is beautiful, her wit on point, and the Weber Grill Academy venue is quirky.

That, after all, is what Adelaide Fringe is about. Beware, you may leave smelling like charcoal.