Dark Mofo 2019: Winter Feast set to delight tastebuds

Perhaps Dark Mofo’s most popular event, the Winter Feast kicks off on Friday night and runs over eight nights across two weeks.

Dark Mofo 2019. Jo Cook food curator Dark Mofo and Bruce McKinven Dark Mofo senior production designer on site at PW1 where the Winter Feast will be held. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

IT has been one of Dark Mofo’s signature events for the past seven years and the popular Winter Feast will feature 25 new stallholders when it starts on Friday.

The event attracts between 10,000 and 18,000 people a night, with eight night sessions over the next two weeks.

Dark Mofo food curator Jo Cook gave the Sunday Tasmanian a sneak peek inside and around the Princes Wharf Shed No.1 as crews get the site ready for almost 80 stallholders.

“There will be 25 new stallholders and a lot of the big players that are at every festival are not here this year to change it around and give new businesses a go,” she said.

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A big new feature this year will be the interactive kids’ program, Fire and Ice.

Located outside along the Salamanca lawn side of the shed, there will be an oyster shucking station with tables made of ice with local bullkelp frozen inside, made by the Antarctic Ice Company. Under 10s can also smash potatoes and learn first-hand about native foods.

“It’s all free and we’re employing up to 30 people to manage it and a bunch of students are doing work placements from six different schools,” Ms Cook said.

Interstate and Tasmanian guest chefs will form two collaborations with custom menus featuring items such as whole goat and whole angus beef steak sandwiches with bone marrow butter.

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Panko Chan will host a different sake masters each week at their sake bar and patrons can blend their own pinot at the Two Tonne Tasmanian Wine stall.

Dark Mofo senior production designer Bruce McKinven said the design and look of the event was a continuation of the Baz Luhrmann theme, but with a new forecourt installation and new elements inside.

The colour gold will also be prominent inside the shed, which Mr McKinven cryptically said might be “a little bit of a hint to a transition to something else in the future”.

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