By Franz Scheurer
The 2005 ‘Spirit of Speyside’ Whisky Festival starts on Friday 29th April 2005 with a jam-packed four-day program. For more information go to:
http://www.spiritofspeyside.com
With a limit of 25 people per dinner they sell out fast, so book early! Details as follows:
Friday May 6th - Adelaide Cup Theme! Dress up and wear a hat! Sweeps!
Friday
June 3rd - Blending the best! Help us blend the next release Nine
Popes!
Friday
July 1st - Christmas in July (without the in-laws!)
Friday
August 5th - Just for the sake of it dinner!
Friday
September 2nd - AFL footy theme (without the nasty VB beer!)
Friday
October 7th - Stay tuned for a theme!
Friday
November 4th - Hmmm… still stay tuned for a theme!
Friday
December 2nd - Beach Party! Find that loud Hawaiian shirt!
Cost:
$ 90 p/person including all food and wines
For
more information or bookings call:
Tracy
Anderson at Charles Melton Wines 08 8563 3606
This is about exploring your taste
buds, trying different flavour combinations, whilst learning about wine and
trying your own hand at wine blending; Cost, all-inclusive $45 p/person
For more information or bookings
call:
Moss Brothers 08 9755-6270 or e-mail
barbara@mossbrothers.com.au
The Sydney Bar Show 2005 will
be held at Wharf 8, King Street Wharf, Sydney, on September 20th and
21st 2005. The number one event for the Bar Trade, it combines the
largest collection of drink brands and bar-related products in Australia with
lectures, tastings and mixology seminars and provides the ideal platform to
launch a new product. A highlight will be the Australian Bartender Magazine’s ‘Bartender
of the Year’ competition on day one, where you will be able to watch twenty
of our most talented bartenders shake, muddle and battle it out. Note: Trade
only!
For
more information please visit www.barshow.com.au
Don’t miss the Great French Degustation on Sunday, 29th
May, at ‘berardo’s’ restaurant and bar in Noosa, with guest chefs Shannon
Bennett, Mark Best and Bruno Loubet cooking up a storm and serving a six-course feast, matched by premium
French wines. Cost: $ 145 p/person
For more information
or bookings:
Call ‘berardo’s’
on: 07 5474 0460
Tasting Australia, Australia’s premier food
get-together, and one of the world’s most important gastronomic events, is
again being staged in Adelaide from 21st – 30th October
2005. British food guru Sophie
Grigson, Italian-born culinary father figure Antonio Carluccio, acclaimed
television cook and restaurateur Rick Stein and author Jill Norman form part of
a large team of food professionals appearing at Tasting Australia. The British
celebrities will be joined by Ireland’s favourite TV cooks, Paul and Jeanne
Rankin, along with a large delegation of high profile food, drink and travel
professionals from around the world. The Australian team includes inspiring
chefs like Cheong Liew, Tim Pak Poy, Geoff Lindsay, Greg Malouf, Peter Evans,
Darren Simpson, Kate Lamont, Jeremy Strode, Alain Fabregue, Iain Hewitson,
Shannon Bennett, Serge Dansereau, Stephanie Alexander and many more. The World
Food Media Awards will also be held as part of Tasting Australia. According to
Festival Director, Ian Parmenter, this will be the most comprehensive Tasting
Australia ever, with plenty for all appetites.
For details consult: http://www.tasting-australia.com.au
2005 sees the 10th Anniversary of Cheong Liew at the Grange. The Adelaide Hilton, under the inspired leadership of Jean-Luc Fourrier, and Cheong Liew and his fabulous team, have come up with a celebratory menu, showcasing some of Cheong’s most famous dishes. This is definitely the year to eat at the Grange, South Australia’s foremost fine dining restaurant. Treat yourself to a roller-coaster ride of flavours and textures unlike any other, with the ‘gentle’ culinary drill sergeant and one of the world’s best chefs: Cheong Liew!
For more information or bookings:
Adelaide Hilton: 08 8217 2000
And last but by no means least:
Yours truly has just been appointed the ‘Ambassador’ for Australia and New Zealand for the Islay Whisky Club (with members in 26 countries). My aim will be to bring members of the local chapter of the Islay Whisky Club together in Single Malt tastings, workshops and social gatherings with a whisky focus. We will hopefully recruit many new members and introduce them to the wonderful world of whisky. I have set up a web site for the Australian / New Zealand Chapter with an electronic newsletter to follow, soon. We will organise regular, enlightening and educational whisky trips to Islay, visit the Islay Whisky Club’s clubhouse at the beautiful Ballygrant Inn, and experience the warm hospitality of Islay and its people. The club brings people together from all over the world and from all walks of life, who appreciate the pleasures of Islay Single Malts, or who have an interest in this traditional Hebridean industry that contributes so much to the life on Islay and in Scotland. For more information e-mail me, Franz Scheurer, at info@australiangourmetpages.com and have a look at the Australian and New Zealand Chapter site: http://www.classic.com.au/wizard/IWCHome.htm and also check out the Islay Whisky Club’s Islay home at: http://www.islaywhiskyclub.com/