Australians are famous for their love of good food and wine, and in such a vast country with such diverse conditions, they're capable of producing outstanding produce and spectacular wines. Almost all cities in Australia host a food and wine festival at some point throughout the year, but the smaller regional festivals shouldn't be overlooked by their friendly small-town hospitality and fresh regional produce. The majority of the fresh foods we eat comes from all of these country areas along with Australia's internationally renowned wines and stickiest.
The Hunter Events F.O.O.Week D is a highlight of the Australian food calendar with lots of events selling out within hours of them being announced. The festival runs over a week in the center of Apr and boasts several major events along with an almost unlimited number of smaller events run by local restaurants and wineries. The festival highlights this year include Forage a gentle 3.5km meander through vineyards, along sheep tracks, and thru cattle country, stopping every 500m or so to sample local produce and hear informative talk about the local growing conditions and their effects on regional produce. Tickets to this are limited and include a bus to the walk, food, and wine. A 10-mile dinner is another highlight and offers a distinctive outdoor dining experience showcasing the local produce from within a 100 miles radius.
The dinner is a 7-course degustation served at communal tables, each course supplied by one of the participating cities inside the region. The night market is also not to be missed and features 40 stalls spruiking the best food and wine from the region, with the opportunity to meet the producers, chefs, and cooks. The F.O.O.D Train from Sydney is the perfect way to enjoy the festival and leave and return to Central Station in Sydney. Other events are too numerous to list but include pop up cellar doors, gourmet BBQs in the park, Fiesta in the Courtyard, cheese tastings, apple tastings and much more.
Even though, nowhere near the scale of Hunter Events F.O.O.D Week, the one-day Collector Village Hunter Valley Festival near Maitland, now in its 10th year, is gaining a reputation of being a fun-filled, not to be missed family festival. The festival, at the start of May, is focused around the local production of NSW with its main event being a giant pumpkin growing competition. There are over 80 booths to explore, offering all things, local produce, local arts, and activities. Vintage farm machinery, classic vehicles and rural demonstrations, live music and entertainment and the largest exhibition of giant NSW within the country completes the day's activities. The event culminates in a supper dance where the locals and visitors get to kick up their heels and share some homemade country delights. All proceeds from the supper dance go back to the local community.
Moree on a Plate, held in the small northern NSW town of Moree in May, is another small family orientated festival that packs a lot into a small-time. The one-day event focuses on the locally grown produce and features cooking demonstrations, guest chefs, Television personalities, culinary problems, and tastings. There's also a fun selection of activities for the kids. The Barbecue Challenge is a festival highlight which incorporates 3 rounds of preparation, barbecuing and judging with the winner being crowned Moree on a Plate Barbecue Challenge Winner'. There's also a gala evening, local art exhibition and live music.
There are plenty of food and wine events through NSW and Australia, some large, some small. Real foodies will enjoy the smaller festivals just as much as the larger ones as the small-town community and country hospitality offer not only a taste of county style food, but an insight into the way the rural community lives and functions.
Choice Hotels have hundreds of hotels across Australia including Hunter Events F.O.O.D Week. To learn more visit the Hunter Events Family Festival in NSW.