The Tasting Australia 2019 program has been announced with more than 160 events to take place across 12 regions around Adelaide from 5 to 14 April.
Award-winning chefs, 70 of which are Michelin-starred, will join forces with drinks professionals for 160-plus events, including eight Glasshouse Kitchen events, five Tasting Australia Airlines destinations and 24 East End Cellars masterclass, over the 10 day festivals.
The event will kick off with the Of The Moment – The Opening Night Party on Friday 5 April. Jock Zonfrillo (Restaurant Orana, Adelaide), David Thompson (Aaharn, Hong Kong), Paul Carmichael (Momofuku Seiōbo, Sydney), and Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks, Byron Bay) will each search for the best South Australian ingredients of the moment, plating up dishes on the day with matching wines from the newly released Samuel’s Collection by Yalumba.
Together with programming director Zonfrillo, festival director Simon Bryant has curated a diverse program that features fine dining alongside free family-friendly events, hands-on workshops and tours.
“We have been really impressed by the calibre of events and talent that have come out of the woodwork to create an exciting program for the 2019 festival,” Bryant says.
“From the Kuitpo Kollective party in the Hills to the celebration of Meat, Fire (and) Wine in the Barossa, or the discussion about Future of Food in the Fleurieu to Vegan Palooza at Tonsley Innovation District, this program honestly has an event for all tastes.”
The drinks-side of the festival has grown significantly in recent years.
“We no longer just think about wine as something that ‘goes with food’,” beverage director Nick Stock says. “Drinks have their own stories and own identities too, which you can really see through the Tasting Australia program.
“We have two incredible international guests in Guy de Rivoire from Champagne Bollinger and Burgundy winemaker Jane Eyre, plus some of the country’s best talent — many of whom are South Australian — involved in the East End Cellars Masterclass series.”
The full program can be viewed here.