Stallholders stoking their fires as ticket sales open for the biggest foodie event of the year

A prominent Hobart chef and a Ranelagh farmer are again teaming up ahead of the Taste of Summer. Find out what they will have on offer at the biggest foodie event of the season.

Khayla Massie co-curator and stallholder, Dayal Patel chef from Lost Captain, Jo Cook co-curator, Michael Paul of River Bank. Taste of Summer launch for 2024/25 event. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

With several prominent food festivals under his belt, chef Dayal Patel is stoking the fire for his biggest one yet.

Smoked, an authentic US-style barbecue restaurant, opened at the Lost Captain in Huonville last year and is making waves in Tasmania’s foodie scene.

Mr Patel has experience as a head chef across many Hobart restaurants, plus overseas in Hong Kong, Singapore and recently the US, where he discovered a passion for smoking meat.

“I came back from a month in Texas fully into it,” Mr Patel said.

Smoked, by Lost Captain, is heading to Tasmania’s key summer foodie event the Taste of Summer for the first time selling smoked barbecue meats from local supplier, Riverbank Speckle Park.

Khayla Massie co-curator and stallholder, Dayal Patel chef from Lost Captain, Jo Cook co-curator, Michael Paul of River Bank. Taste of Summer launch for 2024/25 event. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Owner of Riverbank Speckle Park at Ranelagh, Michael Paul, said he and Mr Patel had already worked together on several events and he was keen for the opportunity to showcase his products.

Mr Paul said he was born into small scale farming before becoming a builder which now supports the farm business.

“Living off the land has always been a part of our family,” Mr Paul said.

He said they source their rare-breed Speckle Park cattle specifically because the animals marble off grass rather than grain, to reduce their environmental impact.

Taste of Summer runs from December 28 to January 4.

Festival curator Jo Cook said 75 stallholders were expected at this year’s event with early ticket sales “the best they’ve ever been” due to the calibre of talent and exciting line-up of entertainment, headlined by Sydney rockers Hoodoo Gurus.

She said paddock to plate was a key theme for the festival with a focus on producer-made menus.

Minister for Sports and Events Nic Street said the “iconic” festival was a terrific opportunity for stallholders to promote themselves during the “key” summer event.

Tickets for the Taste are on sale now and available at www.tasteofsummer.com.au.

Originally published as Stallholders stoking their fires as ticket sales open for the biggest foodie event of the year