casa e cucina

The objective of the competition is to find a combination of ingredients (and/or products in one or a combination of dishes) that best captures the essence and spirit of Kangaroo Island’s lifestyle. Like Maggie Beer’s pate and pheasant is as synonymous to the Barossa as Paella is to Spain, Kangaroo Island is now searching for a dish that is uniquely Kangaroo Island.

This competition is unique as it a strung out over three years enabling a range of chefs to contribute their ideas: in 2016, the finalists from each year’s FEASTival will battle it out for the title.

Inveterate traveller, passionate amateur cook and writer of food and travel cookbooks Manuela Darling-Ganser will be making a special trip from Sydney to join Adelaide’s own leading native food chef Andrew Fielke to ensure there is a diverse range of opinion & experience for the judging.

Last year, the Signature Dish Competition was won by local chef Tony Nolan who represented the Island beautifully with Kangaroo Island’s King George whiting and Island Pure Sheep Dairy’s haloumi as his signature ingredients. Tony’s selection of the sheep’s cheese pays homage to the resourcefulness of the original farming settlers on KI. Their hardships have led to building one of the most productive food regions in Australia.

“This dish captures the essence of what Kangaroo Island is famous for; rich oceans, fertile farming grounds and fresh open areas,” Tony says.
Sponsored by Southern Ocean Lodge, Sumptuous Magazine and Kangaroo Island Outdoor Action, the winner will be treated to two days of luxury at Southern Ocean Lodge and receive a feature of their winning dish in Sumptuous Magazine.

The challenge starts at 2.30pm at the Thomas Foods International Tasting Kangaroo Island at the Wharf on Sunday the 28th April from 10am – 5.00pm. The competition is one of over 15 events around the Island as part of the FEASTival.

SeaLink are offering day packages to the event from Adelaide.
The eclectic all-day food & wine feast will see the very best of the island’s food, wine & personality creating an opportunity to meet the people behind the produce & products.

Dan Pattingale from Kangaroo Island Olive oil will show you how to smoke Snook in a cardboard box at home. The year 12 students from Kingscote High School will be teaching the adults how to cook gourmet treats on a BBQ and you can join the historic walking tour that finishes up at Fine Art Kangaroo Island’s Feast of Finalists exhibition.

Enabling the adults some down time to enjoy the day, the FEASTival offers child minding, games, fish & squid catching competitions and more.

The all-day tasting menu start starts with Kate Sumner from Kangaroo Island Source who recently created the new Honey and Fig Ice-cream for Peters Ice cream. Kate will be serving Island Pure haloumi on turkish bread rocket & beetroot relish alongside a vegan dish of KI olive polenta with chargrilled vegetables & almond gazpacho sauce.

Matt Johnson from the famous Rock Pool Café (KI version) serves his signature smoked salmon and prawn salads.
Owner of LifeTime Private Retreats, Rachel Hannaford, will be offering at Kangaroo Island Wild Food Cantina wild pork tacos & crackling, KI lamb cartina & a local charcoal fish plate.

KI Wilderness Retreat is opting for the comforting food angle with lamb rogan josh with rice, braised lamb & shiraz pie & pork shoulder with honey mustard dressing.
The iconic Restaurant Bella will be doing what they do best - mediterranean spiced local lamb leg pizza with sheep’s yoghurt; roasted pumpkin and sheep’s feta pizza with rocket & vincott and white chocolate, sheep’s yoghurt & vanilla pannacotta with KI Spirit’s Strawberry Liqueur Jelly, pistachios and saffron pashmak.
Finally Ulonga Lodge will be serving coffee and cakes and the island’s famous honey will feature in ice-creams from both Tracey Zealand’s Honey Ice-cream& Kate Sumner.
Visitors will also be able to see why Kangaroo Island is fast becoming a serious wine producing region; enjoying wine and spirits from Islander Estate, Dudley Wines Kangaroo Island Spirits & Bay of Shoals Wines alongside other wine providers.
And for that touch of something special, Chocol Art & Coffee will be creating edible table centerpieces of decadent chocolate. Punters will then be able to buy a seat at the table to devour them.
All of this is set to the foot stomping Irish/folk band from Melbourne - Buddah in a Chocolate Box. The Kangaroo Island FEASTival’s feature food & wine day will be something very special for every taste bud.
Entry is only $10 ($12 on the day)

Information and bookings:

http://www.tourkangarooisland.com.au/kifeastival/p88.aspx

Day packages are available through Sealink 131301 http://www.sealink.com.au/kifeastival or book through Venue Tix 08 8225 8888 http://www.venuetix.com.au

Australian food lovers have until the 30th April to take their passion for food to the next level in the gastronomic capital of the world. Highly respected cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu, is offering an exclusive scholarship to join their unique program all about the science of taste in Paris.

Spending one week in Paris and one week in Reims, Champagne, course participants will look beyond simple flavours and textures, in fact, the Hautes Etudes du Goût program, held at Le Cordon Bleu’s Paris headquarters, involves advanced lectures and workshops by renowned French academics, the likes of renowned scientist and forefather of molecular gastronomy, Herve This, as well as numerous experiential food and wine masterclasses.

The gastronomic program also involves bespoke excursions to food markets and Champagne houses to experience food and wine from its very beginnings to finished product. Those wishing to join the next program, which will run from 14 – 26 October, now also have the opportunity to apply for a 50% scholarship, which closes on the 30th April (including tuition fees, accommodation, meals and local transportation).

Only the sixth Australian to ever participate in this program, Australian Sophie Mibus describes the course as “pure pleasure. The combined experiences challenge everything you have ever thought about food, reawakening your long forgotten senses of smell and taste.”

“The content of the program is a well-balanced, intensive schedule of lectures by established, renowned lecturing staff and young contemporary “cutting-edge” researchers – all with a very French focus – complemented by a series of such amazing excursions and food and wine pairing activities. Especially for people working in food or wine, this course is pure stimulation for the palate!”

Participants come from many different cultures (11 nationalities were represented in the 2012 class) and professional backgrounds, sharing a common passion and curiosity for taste and gastronomy: Chefs, culinary instructors, food industry professionals, restaurant and food service operators, food writers and journalists, post-graduate students who want to develop their career in the fields of taste and gastronomy.

NOTE: The program is delivered in French and translated into English.

For more details visit www.heg-gastronomy.com or contact australia@cordonbleu.edu.

For information on Le Cordon Bleu, please contact ahardy@cordonbleu.edu or (08) 8348 3038.

• Upload your recipe to win over $100,000 worth of prizes including $50,000 worth of kitchen appliances
• Launch of national food competition and community – besthomechef.com.au

John Winning, CEO of Winning Appliances, has today launched Best Home Chef, a national cooking competition and community for food lovers to share recipes.

Best Home Chef is an online community where people can upload original recipes, hear from Australian chefs and learn more about cooking. Entrants also have the chance to win over $100,000 of prizes, including $50,000 worth of kitchen appliances.

Entering the competition and joining the community is as simple as registering and uploading an original recipe at BestHomeChef.com.au  – whether it is a family recipe that’s been passed down, a new take on a classic or a truly innovative creation.

How the Best Home Chef community and competition works:

1. 1.    Register at besthomechef.com.au and upload an original recipe that costs no more than $80 to make.
2. 2.    Rate, cook and review recipes - cook and rate recipes that have been uploaded by others within the community.
3. 3.    Monthly prizes - prizes will be awarded to the top rating recipes for the month.
4. 4.    Semi finalists - the top 25 recipes as voted by the community (based on ratings and reviews) by April 15, 2013, will become semi finalists.
5. 5.    Grand finalists - six cooking mentors will then select the five best recipes to be involved in a live cook-off in May 2013. The cook-off will take place at the new Winning Appliances Redfern Showroom.
6. 6.    Winner chosen at live cook-off - a judging panel of food critics will select the best dish at the live cook-off. The Best Home Chef winner receives $50,000 worth of state-of the-art cooking appliances while the runner-up will receive $25,000 worth of new cooking appliances.

Celebrity chef brand mentors include:

• Peter Evans, My Kitchen Rules star (Wolf)
• Mark Best, Chef at Marque Restaurant (AEG)
• Adam D’Sylva, Chef at Coda Bar & Restaurant (Siemens)
• Anthony Fischbeck, Australian Chef (Scholtès)
• Luca Ciano, Chef Consultant (Smeg)
• Massimo Mele, Ready Steady Cook star (Winning Appliances)

John Winning, CEO of Winning Appliances, said Best Home Chef is a competition designed for any Australian who has an original recipe and believes that food is best shared.

“Australians love good food and sharing it with family and friends. Whether it’s the humble Sunday family roast or grandma’s sought-after Pavlova recipe, cooking is deeply embedded in our culture. Best Home Chef is aimed at the heart of the Australian family home – the kitchen – and giving profile to the unsung food heroes.

“Whether you are looking to update your kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, share your recipes or realise your cooking dreams, Best Home Chef is the competition and community for you.

“Our research indicates that over half of Australians (52%) eat their main meal at home seven days a week and a further 21% eat their main meal at home about six days a week.

With more Australians opting to cook at home we want to provide a profile to the delicious and innovative meals that are being created. Today’s appliances are smarter and sleeker than ever before allowing home chefs to produce restaurant quality meals inside their very own kitchen,” said Mr Winning.

Best Home Chef is open to everyone – from occasional home chefs, to stay-at-home mums and dads, to food bloggers. The winner and runner-up prizes include a selection of products from Best Home Chef sponsors AEG, Smeg, Siemens, Scholtès and Wolf.

Professional chefs can also enter Best Home Chef to win a $10,000 Winning Appliances voucher and the runner-up a $5,000 Winning Appliances voucher. To be eligible for the professional chef prizes, check the box “I am a professional chef,” when registering.