If you’ve ever scrolled through photos of picturesque dining experiences and wished you could be feasting by the water underneath the stars, then we may be able to make your dreams a reality.
Two world-renowned chefs Duncan Welgemoed (Africola, Golden Boy) and Mark Best (Marque) are collaborating for Let the Good Times Flow: A Feast of the Riverland – a sunset food spectacular kicking off the 2022 Tasting Australia event calendar.
After visiting Loxton earlier this year, Mark and Duncan were “blown away” by the exceptional diversity, freshness, and flavours of Riverland food. Good Times Flow will be a 100% locally sourced eight-course feast, incorporating more than 20 of Mark and Duncan’s favourite Riverland food discoveries.
Those attending can expect to dine on anything from native cod, to spit-roasted dorper lamb and steer with smoked ancho. These will be complemented with woodfired Italian breads, caper relish, native river mint, wood-roasted quince, triple cream brie, honeycomb and more.
There will be fire pits flanking the riverbank as chefs serve up the continuous feast on long shared tables. People will see an entire beef hindquarter cooked hanging inside a disused rainwater tank, while other elements will pay homage to the Riverland’s food history.
Mark has also added an exciting new Thai-inspired carp and yabby larb dish to the menu, after recently using carp for a masterclass with the Sydney Seafood School, and changing peoples’ view of this sustainable catch.
Hosted on Saturday 30 April on the grassy Loxton riverfront, Mark and Duncan will be cooking a variety of modern Australian styles, paired with the Riverland’s top rare varietal wines, personally tasted and hand-selected by the cooking duo. Expect to see brands like Ricca Terra, Unico Zelo, Starrs Reach, and 919 Wines on the menu.
The wine list has been specifically selected to showcase hidden-gem Riverland brands and explore unconventional refreshments, many of which may be unexperienced by city-goers. For example, guests may take a sip of Bizzarro Spritz (a mixture of Bizzarro Aperitivo and Unico Zelo Sea Foam Pet Nat), or even a wine in a can, made from the only Bianco D’Alessano grapes in Australia.
Good Times Flow will be hosted by a roving MC, chatting to the chefs, producers, and winemakers in the audience. It will be an intimate affair where you can literally sit next to the people who make the paddock-to-plate experience possible.
Mark Best, for those unacquainted with the Australian restaurant scene, is a recipient of The Josephine Pignolet Award, Chef of the Year in the annual Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, and Restaurant of the Year in Australian Gourmet Traveller. Mark also held 3 Hats in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide for 10 years running.
Adelaide’s own Duncan Welgemoed is a South African born, French trained chef, who has been dominating the South Australian food scene for the past decade. Renowned for his fearless approach to food, his latest restaurant Africola has received near-perfect reviews by global food critics and featured in TV shows around the world.
With Mark and Duncan at the helm, Let the Good Times Flow: A Feast of the Riverland is set to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Tickets are selling quick, so visit the Tasting Australia website to secure your spot.
Where: Grant Schubert Drive, Loxton, Riverland, 5333.
When: Saturday 30 April 2022, 5:00pm
Cost: $185 per person (includes 8-courses food and wine)
If you plan to travel to the Riverland from Adelaide, click here to find some Riverland accommodation options.
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