Adelaide’s annual food and drinks festival Tasting Australia 2021 launches on Friday

After a long wait, Tasting Australia is ready to put SA back at centre stage. Here’s where you can find the best events – and some free ones.

The state’s food industry is ready to take centre stage as Tasting Australia returns following a one-year hiatus.

The 10-day celebration of eating and drinking officially launches on Friday, boasting over 140 events ranging from tastings, tours and masterclasses, to lunches and dinners all across SA.

Festival director Simon Bryant was joined by two of the event’s stars, Maggie Beer and Paul Baker, to preview the new-look “Town Square” hub, in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga.

Tasting Australia festival director Simon Bryant, with event stars Maggie Beer and Paul Baker, holding SA produce Gumeracha Figs, Porcini Mushrooms and West Coast Mussles in the Town Square Kitchen. Picture: Mark Brake.

After the COVID pandemic twice delayed the 2020 event, Bryant said it was a relief to finally get this year’s “world calibre” festival off the ground.

“It’s been the longest pregnancy ever, so it’ll be nice to finally deliver the baby,” he laughed.

This year’s Tasting Australia will be different to previous events with no international headliners, and a strong focus on local chefs and produce, alongside food stars from interstate such as MasterChef’s Andy Allen, Lennox Hastie (Firedoor, NSW) and Alanna Sapwell (Esmay, Queensland).

Sydney’s Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks) has also replaced Jock Zonfrillo as the festival’s food curator.

SA food icon Beer said this year’s festival was the perfect opportunity to showcase the state’s food and beverages to the rest of the country.

“They sit with the best in the world, we know that,” she said.

“Our interstate friends are now able to come and they are going to be amazed. They’re going to think, ‘Why do I need to go overseas?’ We have this captive market, if ever we can show off SA and how amazing we are, this is it.”

Tasting Australia festival director Simon Bryant, with event stars Maggie Beer and Paul Baker, holding SA produce Gumeracha Figs, Porcini Mushrooms and West Coast Mussles in the Town Square Kitchen. Picture: Mark Brake.

Chefs on Wheels co-founder and festival guest programmer Baker described Tasting Australia – which generated $5.4m and attracted more than 6200 interstate and 5000 international visitors in 2019 – as the “best festival in the country”.

“There’s a lot of value for money, it’s not a gimmicky show. They are all well thought-out events with some of the country’s best chefs, and people walk away with an experience,” he said.

The revamped Town Square Kitchen will play host to several ticketed events, from a Mother’s Day brunch to a World’s Table dinner prepared by Cheong Liew, Paul Carmichael of Momofuku fame, Mat Lindsay (Ester) and Louis Tikaram (Stanley). A separate artisans area will offer free demonstrations, including barrel-charring by Master Cask.