Why Forage is a must-do event at Orange’s annual Food Week
This annual event is a huge drawcard for a city known for its food and wine, and many visitors are willing to walk up an appetite.
Edwena Mitchell is busy. Very busy. Every time the veteran caterer fills her celadon-coloured platters with mouthwatering nori rice crisps topped with lamb backstrap and apple salsa, the food quickly disappears and she’s back to square one, preparing yet another batch.
When I reach Mitchell, it’s close to 2pm on a gloriously sunny day in the central western NSW region of Orange, and the district’s popular foodie event Forage is well under way. Working beside grapevines on the edge of the Philip Shaw vineyard, Mitchell has already fed 1000 people, but there are a further 250 hungry mouths coming down the trail.
“The rule is you never run out,” she laughs as she wipes her forehead and returns to her platters.
If anybody knows the terms of engagement at Forage, it’s Mitchell. She was there at the launch event in 2011, serving a palate-cleansing sorbet to 350 diners, and has dished up a course at every Forage since.
One of the most popular offerings in Orange’s ever-expanding tourism calendar, Forage is the ideal day out for those who enjoy the variety of a long degustation meal but baulk at the thought of sitting at a table for hours on end. Set in magnificent countryside, the event allows guests to experience the region’s renowned produce and bucolic landscape as they follow a 4.1km trail across three vineyards, enjoying nine paired courses served at eight stations along the way.
It was local vineyard operator James Sweetapple who brought the concept to Orange after stumbling across a similar event known as Mangialonga in Italy’s Piedmont district in 2006. “I got back from Italy and I said to the local Food Week committee, ‘We’ve got to do this’,” recalls Sweetapple.
The owner of Cargo Wines, Sweetapple worked with colleagues to establish the trail still used today, offering beautiful scenery as well as a path that is “as downhill as possible”.
While it took more than four years to get the first Forage off the ground, the event is now a highlight of Orange’s annual Food Week, a culinary program packed with enticing offerings such as this year’s “Locally Grown” dinner with lauded chef Joel Bickford at the Hotel Canobolas. At $240 a head, Forage isn’t cheap but clearly there are plenty who think it’s worth the outlay. More than 1250 locals and visitors snapped up tickets to this year’s event.
The April sun is shining and I feel like I’ve stumbled on a commercial shoot for RM Williams boots when I arrive at the local council carpark for my coach transfer to the start of the trail. The area is filled with groups of friends, many in their 20s and 30s, wearing stylish felt hats, flowy dresses, smart shirts and leather stockman boots as they stand chatting and laughing, waiting for their designated departure.
While the concept of transporting and feeding hundreds of people outdoors could be a recipe for disaster, it’s apparent before we even depart that the Forage team is well organised. E-tickets are quickly scanned and we are asked to stand in shallow trays of a chlorine solution to eliminate the risk of carrying the destructive phylloxera bug on to vineyards before we’re each given a Forage tote bag.
It contains sheets of stall coupons, a compact guide, a container of cutlery made from wheat straw and, most importantly, a wine glass attached to a lanyard.
It’s only a short ride to See Saw Wines’ Balmoral vineyard where we join others on the grass, sipping on the winery’s sparkling prosecco and nibbling on plates of locally made pork rillette, cheeses, pickles and crackers.
A staggered start means there is never a sense of overcrowding as we meander through the vineyards, taking in views of the striking Mount Canobolas along the way. Queues at most stalls move quickly and there’s always space to relax on the grass surrounding each station. Fortuitously, the ground is dry after a week’s sunshine, but a picnic blanket would be a handy accessory.
At the combined fifth and sixth stations, chairs are provided and local singer Clancy Pye serves up mellow tunes as diners savour Farmer Doug’s potato scallops from Union Bank and The Agrestic Grocer’s Cowra lamb tagine washed down with delicious rose and reds from Mortimers and Ross Hill wineries.
The blend of sunshine and wine creates a wonderful sense of bonhomie and as we wander, I poll fellow foragers on their favourite dishes. Everyone compliments Mitchell’s tasty backstrap and the tagine is often cited, along with a fragrant chicken and chestnut soup from Loop de Loop. On the liquid front, it’s the Cargo Road riesling, Byrne Farm pinot noir and Swinging Bridge chardonnay that are most mentioned.
Tuning in to the passing banter, I hear plenty of praise for the event itself. One group is comparing notes on how many Forages they’ve chalked up, while a young woman walking by declares to her companion, “You know, I think I’m loving Orange.”
The final stretch of the trail is uphill, which is perhaps a good thing given the crispy ricotta-filled cannoli and spiced apple dumplings that wait at the top. Happy and sated, diners collect a glass of Nashdale Lane shiraz from the last station. Some dance under the afternoon sun as a DJ spins classic hits next to the winery’s cellar door.
By the time we return to town, the last rays of sunshine are falling on the Art Deco facade of the Hotel Canobolas, the venue for the Forage after-party. The air is still warm and there’s a festive vibe as the gathering spills out the pub doors on to the street. Smiling, a local tells me the town is ready to celebrate – the wine harvest is over, Food Week is drawing to a close and Forage has once again been a success.
“It’s like the end of the year for Orange now – we can relax,” she says.
In the know
Orange is 260km west of Sydney. Orange Food Week 2026 runs March 20-29. Forage will be held on March 28, with tickets on sale from December 2025.
“Food Train” packages including return rail travel from Sydney, two nights’ accommodation at Quest Orange and Forage tickets are available.
Libby Moffet was a guest of Orange Food Week and Quest Orange.
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