All photos by Jack Fenby.
Tasting Australia is right around the corner and, as always, there are plenty of events happening across South Australia which cater to all different preferences and price ranges.
In terms of accessibility and price, there’s a stand-out event we think you should definitely have on your radar: Rundle Mall’s first-ever Urban Kitchen, a free event for Tasting Australia.
The Urban Kitchen is designed to expand the home cook’s repertoire. The 45-minute live cooking demonstrations and tastings will be led by the team at Sprout, the popular cooking school opened in 2011 by Themis Chryssidis and Callum Hann of MasterChef fame.
Held three times daily for the duration of Tasting Australia, Sprout’s talented chefs will cook a different mouth-watering recipe each day using their favourite local produce sourced from around the state.
Sprout has not only hosted many a cooking class at their HQ, they’ve had a regular presence at the Adelaide Central Markets, in addition to hosting gorgeous dinners and events for some of the top champagne and wine labels in the country.
They’ve even opened their own, huge CBD bar called Eleven (just off Waymouth Street), which is soon adding a restaurant to its repertoire.
If that wasn’t enough, Callum’s star continues to rise after his two stints on MasterChef, and we’ve just found out that he’ll also be featured in this current season of the show, so it’s a great opportunity to learn some tips from one of the best in the business.
Urban Kitchen kicks off in Rundle Mall from Friday the 30th of April to the 9th of May and will showcase a range of daily live cooking demonstrations (and tastings!) for the general public to enjoy. Some of the sessions have already sold out, so be sure to book your spot in the free event as soon as possible.
The pop-up Farquhar Kitchen, who is presenting the event, will become a foodie destination in Rundle Mall. Bringing together the state’s finest regional producers, artisans and iconic local brands all under the one roof — or the Gawler Place Canopy, to be precise.
Participants will taste the dishes and receive a goodie bag containing produce samples and that day’s feature recipe. They’ll also be able to sample and buy beautiful fresh produce and artisan fare from around the state from the Urban Kitchen’s regional tasting carts.
Producers to be showcased across the 10-day Urban Kitchen include Beerenberg and Woodside Cheese Wrights (Adelaide Hills), Barossa Valley Cheese Company and Steiny’s Traditional Mettwurst (Barossa Valley), Fleurieu Milk Company and Port Willunga Fine Foods (Fleurieu Peninsula), Pendleton Olive Estate and Buzz Honey (Limestone Coast), and Rohde’s Free Range Eggs and Pikes Wines & Beer Company (Clare Valley).
Check out the times and dishes below, and be sure to check their availability online.
| Day | Times | Recipes |
| Friday 30 April & Saturday 1 May | 12:00pm, 1:15pm, 2:30pm (Friday) & 11:30am, 12:45pm, 2:00pm (Saturday) | Roasted strawberry fool with salted honeycomb; featuring strawberries from Beerenberg. Spiced fish tacos with guacamole and strawberry salsa; featuring strawberries from Beerenberg. |
| Sunday 2 & Monday 3 May | 11:30am, 12:45pm, 2:00pm (Sunday) & 12:00pm, 1:15pm, 2:30pm (Monday) | Haloumi with witlof, orange and pickled fennel; featuring haloumi from The Barossa Cheese Company. Goat’s curd mousse with grilled figs and white balsamic glaze; featuring goat’s curd from The Barossa Cheese Company |
| Tuesday 4 & Wednesday 5 May | 12:00pm, 1:15pm, 2:30pm | Chilli prawns with lemon yoghurt sauce; featuring Greek yoghurt from the Fleurieu Milk Company Honey labna with rhubarb and almond crumble; featuring Greek yoghurt from the Fleurieu Milk Company |
| Thursday 6 & Friday 7 May | 12:00pm, 1:15pm, 2:30pm | Lamb with thyme mushrooms, pearl barley and goat’s cheese; featuring olive oil from Pendleton Olive Estate Roasted persimmon with spiced honey syrup and ricotta; featuring olive oil from Pendleton Olive Estate |
| Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 May | 11:30am, 12:45pm, 2:00pm | Thai egg nets with hoisin pork and green apple salad; featuring eggs from Rohde’s Free Range Eggs Tuna ceviche with avocado mousse and poached egg; featuring eggs from Rohde’s Free Range Eggs |
“We’re thrilled to welcome Callum, Themis and the Sprout team into Rundle Mall to show how to make the most of the beautiful produce on our doorstep and create restaurant quality food at home,” say Rundle Mall general manager Johanna Williams.
“Urban Kitchen provides a chance to sample produce from around the state with participants and visitors able to stock up on produce from the Urban Kitchen tasting carts and the Mall’s three major supermarkets before heading home and trying the day’s recipe for themselves.”
“South Australian produce is some of the best in the world and through the Urban Kitchen we’ll be giving the community lots of opportunities over 10 days to see and taste something new,” shares Hann.
The sessions are free but bookings are essential so click the link here to reserve your seat.
The event will be held in Gawler Place in Rundle Mall.
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