Arts, Cabaret, Food & Beverage, Fringe 0

Adelaide Fringe – Comfort Food Cabaret

By Tony Polese · On February 20, 2019

SINGING COOK’S CABARET AT THE ICONIC CENTRAL MARKETS IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Australia’s singing cook and Adelaide’s own Michelle Pearson is serving up a fresh season of heracclaimed Comfort Food Cabaret with all-new stories, songs and delicious recipes in the ambient surrounds of the iconic Central Market.

A smash-hit at last year’s Fringe Festival, Comfort Food Cabaret is a feast for the senses, Michelle cooks, sings with a moving soulful voice, tells stories and feeds her audience with help from her Maltese Kitchen Queens, Loren Quinn and Rhiannon Groutsch.

This year, Michelle is drawing inspiration from the Central Market, creating dishes with produce from the local stalls andweaving some of the food hub’s folklore into her story-telling. It will be a tasty must-see experience, especially for those who shop regularly at the market.

“There will be an ode to the traders and their stories. I used to be a tour guide at the market, so I know some background yarns that have to be told!” she says.

Some of her favourite stalls include Lucia’s, the Smelly Cheese Shop and Barossa Fine Foods who will all get a mention. “I also love the Kangaroo Island stall with its wines, syrups and honey, and the organic fruit and veg stalls,” says Michelle, who has a new-found appreciation for SA’s fresh produce after a few months of touring overseas. “After cooking in Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Paris and Italy and touring produce markets in these countries I’ve come to realise that we have some of the best produce in the world,” she says.
In August, Michelle was invited to perform Comfort Food Cabaret at Copenhagen’s three Michelin star restaurant, Geranium, after a chance meeting with Danish business identities and entrepreneurs, Yvonne and Lars Christensen, at the Adelaide Fringe in 2017.

Following Copenhagen, Michelle made her UK debut, as part of a Made in Adelaide contingent, with a two-week season in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which was met with rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. “Food makes people happy, so does music, they both move and lift you. I’ve always thought that,” explains Michelle.

This year, Michelle’s Comfort Food Cabaret will feature heart-warming and hilarious interpretations of popular music accompanied by foodie Maestro, Aaron Nash, and a brand new selection of her favourite comfort foods, not yet revealed. Previous shows have included recipes like: haloumi from SA’s La Vera Cheese Company and peaches from her own garden with maple and walnuts, slow-cooked pancetta and tomato sugo with bronze-cut pasta, slow-cooked Lebanese lamb and fattoush salad and an almond and date pudding with salted butterscotch sauce inspired by family recipes and tales of romance.

Comfort Food Cabaret enjoyed sell-out seasons at the 2017 and 2018 Adelaide Fringe Festivals, 2017 Melbourne Fringe and2018 Tasting Australia. In its debut year, Comfort Food Cabaret took out South Australia’s highest accolade for cabaret at the Adelaide Theatre Guide Awards. Michelle shares her time between singing and cooking with her businesses Lucky Kitchen and Heyday Entertainment. Comfort Food Cabaret is where her two loves come together. Comfort Food Cabaret will be at the Adelaide Central Market from 16 February as part of the 2019 Adelaide Fringe Festival before showcasing at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March and Tasting Australia on Friday and Saturday 4 & 5 April at Adelaide’s Crack Kitchen.

Michelle will also be performing her new show, Just Desserts at the Adelaide Fringe from Thursday 28 February to Saturday 9 March.
Location: U-Install-It Community Kitchen, Gouger Dining Area at Adelaide Central Market
44-60 Gouger Street, Adelaide, SA 5000
Ticket Costs: Full Price: $50; Concession: $48; Child $30; Family: $120; BankSA: $38.25
Suitable: All ages
Book Tickets:
More Information:
adelaidefringe.com.au
www.comfortfoodcabaret.com