Tasting Australia has announced its 2021 Food Curator. Byron Bay-based Three Blue Ducks founder Darren Robertson will take the reigns, after featuring as a guest at the 2019 festival.
Festival Director Simon Bryant says Robertson’s passion for farm-to-table cooking and ethically-farmed produce align perfectly with the Tasting Australia ethos. “Darren is the ideal fit for the Food Curator role for Tasting Australia – he truly lives and breathes the same values as the festival which means that he can genuinely share and strengthen the Tasting Australia story to a global audience,” says Bryant.
“Not only is Darren a down-to-earth chef and easy to work with, he is internationally respected. He will be selecting the food talent for the Tasting Australia program and I have no doubt that he will produce an exciting line-up through his networks.”
Robertson says he is “thrilled” to return to the 10-day food and drink festival in the role of Food Curator.
“Having worked in the industry in Australia and globally for over 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the most interesting, inspiring, creative and talented people and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to invite them to be a part of this world class event,” says Robertson.
“Collaboration is exciting for both the tasters and tastemakers, and I can’t wait to see our culinary greats cooking alongside up and coming rising stars with producers, brewers, wine makers in the mix. I want both the chefs and visitors to leave this event as blown away and inspired as I was when I first came to Tasting Australia.
“Especially in these current times, I think we’ve come to appreciate even more the significant role that food has in our culture and community and I think Australians are eager to get out and celebrate it, and I couldn’t think of a better place to do that than Tasting Australia.”
A well-respected figure in Australia’s culinary scene, Robertson is expected to pull together a compelling program for festival’s 2021 return.
Created in collaboration with the Tasting Australia Creative Team, the program will be announced on 3 December 2020.