Editor’s Pick: 10 Tasting Australia Events To Check Out

Every year the Tasting Australia program comes out and I fall in love. The festival consistently delivers, with far-flung events (complete with chartered trains and planes) and cheap and cheerful city-based events.

Here – in ascending price order – are the top 10 events that caught our eye.

75th Anniversary of Food & Beer Festival at the Czechoslovak Club

Czech food and beer are on full display at the local Adelaide Czechoslovak Club. Chef Silvie Wundersitzova is dishing up traditional Czech treats and Czech-style tap beers at the club, which has served as a home away from home for the local Czech community for 75 years.
Czechoslovak Club, 51 Coglin Street, Adelaide
Free (although some beverages come at additional cost)
6pm to 8pm, Friday May 2 to Saturday May 3 & Friday May 9 to Saturday May 10

Waiters’ Race

The idea of a “waiters’ race” can be traced back to France, naturally. The race tests waiters’ speed while balancing a plate of coffee, water and croissants. The South Australian spin starts on the north-east corner of Town Square. From there, front-of-house staff head south, crossing a road and circling a fountain before turning toward the finish line. Turn up to see teams from your favourite local venues battle it out to be crowned the quickest in town.
Town Square, Victoria Square
Free
4.30pm to 5pm, Sunday May 4

Aperitivo Hour – Thelma

There’s no one better to drink with than Olivia Moore and Tom Campbell. The pair, who run Hills diner Thelma, are heading to the Drinks Academy in Town Square to serve two wines matched with two snacks.
Drinks Academy, Town Square, Victoria Square
$50
6pm to 7pm, Friday May 9

Town Square Canteen – Flinders Food Co

Doogal and Louise Hannagan are travelling to Town Square from Hawker to bring a taste of the Flinders Ranges to city diners. For $55 you’ll score a main course, a side dish, bread and a glass of wine. Celebrating native fare, the Hannagans are serving golden wattle flower damper; red kangaroo fillet with sweet potato puree and red gum-smoked almonds; and mixed succulent salad with house-made chive oil.
Dining Galleries, Victoria Square
$55
Sessions between midday and 1.45pm, Thursday May 8

Dining Galleries – Off the Clock

Ever wondered what a top chef cooks when they’re off the clock? We have. Five chefs – Zoe Birch (Greasy Zoe’s), Dave Verhuel (Embla), Nick Tadija (Fiore), Trinh Richards (The Little Rickshaw) and Georgie Rogers (Angove) – are teaming up to cook a menu of 10 top snacks. With drinks paired to each course, menu highlights include crispy chicken skin with whipped anchovy; a take on prawn toast made with grilled king prawn, ’nduja vinaigrette, lardo and prawn head and tarragon mayonnaise; lion’s mane mushroom schnitzel; and black sesame meringue with mandarin-spiced rum sorbet.
Dining Galleries, Victoria Square
$195
Midday to 3pm, Sunday May 4

A Love Letter to Italy: Pasta-making with Down the Rabbit Hole Wines

Run by Domenic Palumbo and Elise Cook, Down the Rabbit Hole serves up well-balanced wines and immaculate vibes. The winery’s on-site diner Fiore is the sort of place that invites you to linger. For Tasting Australia, Palumbo and chef Nick Tadija will guide guests through the vegetable garden (with a glass of blanc de blanc in hand) before diving into a pasta-making workshop and a long-table dinner with plates of pasta, sides and desserts. Guests will also take home a gift bag with pasta, sugo and a bottle of vino.
Down the Rabbit Hole Wines, 233 Binney Road, McLaren Vale
$199
5.30pm to 8.30pm, Saturday May 3 & Saturday May 10

Dining Galleries – Elemental

Tasting Australia is inviting you to “get metaphysical” with an exquisite meal designed by three top chefs: Lennox Hastie of Sydney’s Firedoor, Nicola Palmer, who runs Clare Valley’s Penobscot Farm, and Chiara Pavan of Michelin-starred restaurant Venissa on the island of Mazzorbo. Hastie is playing with fire, Pavan is evoking water with SA seafood, and Palmer’s dishes will be guided by earth. Guests get a drink on arrival and four courses paired with a drink.
Dining Galleries, Victoria Square
$295
7pm to 10pm, Friday May 9

Dining Galleries – Zero Heroes

Top British chef Douglas McMaster is teaming up with Tasting Australia food curator Kane Pollard, and Trader House’s Jacqui Challinor to create a low-waste meal including pork croquettes, smoked leather jacket cheeks, red kangaroo and hemp ricotta.
Dining Galleries, Victoria Square
$295
7pm to 10pm, Wednesday May 7

Roaming Forage HQ with Mark Best

Although Mark Best made a name for himself in the Sydney restaurant scene, he’s a born and bred South Australian. For this event, Best is teaming up with his cousin Scott Rogasch for an event that’s equal parts homecoming, roaming feast and family reunion. You’re invited to stroll through the vineyard, stopping to enjoy a roaming five-course meal including grilled Coorong mullet with butter beans and slow-cooked lamb shoulder.
Rogasch Cottage, 4 Maria Street, Tanunda
$299
1pm to 5pm, Saturday May 3.

Secret Dinner Party by Justin James

Justin James helped put South Australia on the map as a global dining destination. He stepped away from Restaurant Botanic last year but, luckily for us, he didn’t go far, announcing plans to open Restaurant Aptos, a destination diner in a converted church in the Adelaide Hills. For this event James is cooking an elegant culinary experience inspired by how he entertains at home. The location? Top secret.
Secret Venue (depart from Victoria Square
$600
6pm to 11.30pm, Saturday May 10