Tasting goes wild for native foods
Australian native food is on the menu at Tasting Australia presented by Thomas Foods on Tuesday.
Acclaimed authors and native food specialists will present insightful ideas and experiences about our
nation’s oldest foods, and their place in modern society.
Among those on stage will be John Newton, author of The Oldest Foods on Earth, Pam Sando of
Slow Food, Ron Newchurch of Nunga Produce and Matjarra foods, chair of Australian Native Food
Industry Limited Amanda Garner and botanist Neville Bonney.
Three demonstrations will show you ways to use native ingredients in your own home cooking, and
discuss where best to find them so as to respect the environment and the traditional origin of these
foods. Recipes include:
Wattle seed cream sauce on kangaroo steak
Lemon myrtle rice
Bush tomato and maple syrup carrots
Pavlova with bush fruits and wattle seed cream
Porcini pepperleaf pate
“Native Australian foods are receiving a lot of attention from the media and public at the moment,
so we believe it’s the perfect time to widen the discussion and share information about this subject,”
Tasting Australia creative director Simon Bryant said.
“Beyond being a niche, or interesting element to a meal, there is so much tradition we must
understand about the origin of these ingredients as well as the cultural and environmental impact of
using them as commonplace components of a dish.”
Tasting Australia will also host the national forum Wine Day Out in the southern side of Town Square
for TED-x style talks about the direction of the wine industry, for the wine industry. This registration-
only event is a meeting of minds for South Australia’s winemakers, marketers, vignerons, producers
and distributors. Speakers include winemakers Stephen Pannell (SC Pannell), Anton Von Klopper
(Lucy Margaux Wines), Sue Bell (Bellwether Wines) and Louisa Rose (Penfolds), plus ex-CEO of
Winemakers’ Federation of Australia Stephen Strachan.
In region, the Barossa will host a celebration of one of the first settlements of the area – Bethany –
with a tour of the community hosted by fifth generation landholder and winemaker Geoff Schrapel
(Bethany Wines) and an outstanding long lunch provided by Food Luddite, chef Mark McNamara.
The sold out Izakaya Night returns to Yakitori Takumi in North Adelaide after the great success of
Tasting Australia 2014. Japanese tapas takes on a distinctly South Australian flavour featuring local
products such as Coorong Angas beef.
Program highlights
11.45am – Neville Bonney, botanist and author Knowing, Growing, Eating Plants: demonstration
12.45pm – Discussion panel: Australian Native Foods
1.45pm – Judy Myall, Outback Chef: demonstration
2.45pm – Author talk: John Newton, author The Oldest Foods on Earth
3.45pm – Andrew Fielke, chef and native food specialist: demonstration
From 6pm – Izakaya Night, The Fearal Feast of Prairie on O’Connell
Town Square is open daily and offers a range of food from South Australia’s regions, a long bar
featuring craft beers, cider and local wines plus many Tasting Australia partner displays, samples and
giveaways.
Town Square opening hours:
Sunday 1 May – Wednesday 4 May 11am-5pm
Thursday 5 May – Saturday 7 May 11am-8pm
Sunday 8 May 10am-5pm
Entry is free
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