An evening of wine and cheese – February 24

Join La Vera cheese expert Renato Cavuoto and La Cantina Italian wine expert Christian Canala for an indulgent evening of wine and cheese at Bar Mercato. Individual cheese portions and tastings include casalingo paired with Tavignano Verdicchio dei Castello dei Jesi, grilled halloumi paired with Coffele Soave Classico, mozzarella paired with Terre dei Rumi Montepulciano, and Adel Blue with Bera Moscato Passito. Learn the stories behind the cheeses and wines while you experience the flavours and aromas. Tickets are $20 per person. To secure a place visit the Mercato website here.

The Ghetto Smoke Show, Adelaide Fringe – Until March 4

Curious Squire chef and barbecue expert Drew Akin is setting mouths watering with his pop-up stall The Ghetto Smoke Show in the Garden of Unearthly Delights at this year’s Adelaide Fringe. The Ghetto Smoke Show offers smoked house-made Cajun Classic Andouille Sausage, Bar-B-Q pork sliders (made from 14-hour smoked spiced pork), buffalo wings and deep-fried Oreos. More information here.

Gluttony, Adelaide Fringe – Until March 14

As well as all the entertainment on offer at Gluttony, the Fringe precinct on the south side of Rymill Park has a range of food options including stalls from Jam Face by Poh, Toly Gourmet Vietnamese food, Soi 38 Thai food, Well Hung and Tender Burgers, Saint Espresso coffee and dessert crepes, and Amazon Power – an acai bowl stall that caters for just about every dietary requirement imaginable.

The Adelaide Fringe Reel – February 26 until March 14

Each Friday night during the Adelaide Fringe, 2KW is showing The Adelaide Fringe Reel at 9pm. The 30-minute screening is made up of archival footage of the Fringe interspersed with images of the Fringe poster designs from the past 50 years. It aligns with Fringe illuminations along North Terrace, from The Institute to Bonython Hall.

A Fork in the Park – February 27

Join food trucks including Chimichurri Grill, Phat Buddha Rolls, Cheesy Street, The Little Cake Tin, Bodri’s Bakery, Loca Pops and The Rolling Pizza, plus  local brewers and cider and wine makers (Wheatsheaf Brewery, Swell Brewing, Three Dark Horses, Lobo Cider and the Big Shed Brewing Concern), in celebrating the opening of a new public space in the Adelaide Parklands. Park 27b is located opposite the Bowden redevelopment and features new facilities including a nature playground, basketball and tennis courts, barbecues, shaded areas, a skate park and lots of grassed space. Cambodian, Mexican, Argentinian, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Moroccan foods will be on offer as well as fusion cuisines from new vans Pop Catering and Mullygrubs. More information can be found here.

New food truck Pop Catering will be at A Fork in the Park on Saturday.

Cellar Door Fest – February 26 to 28

Head down to the Convention Centre next weekend for Friday night “knock-off” drinks, beer, wine and cheese master-classes, Long Table lunch and dinner events, and the opportunity to meet and taste the produce of 180 of South Australia’s food and wine producers. Admission tickets can be purchased at the door or online. Tickets for master-classes and other special Cellar Door Fest events must be purchased separately. The full program and ticketing information can be found on the Cellar Door Fest website.

The Wine Bluffs, Adelaide Fringe – February 23 to March 6

For those who don’t like to take their wine too seriously, comedians Damian Callinan and Paul Calleja are presenting a show at the Royal Croquet Club that tells audiences how to tell a Claret from a Beaujolais, suggests pairings for fairy bread, reveals why the Champagne spider hasn’t caught on, and explains how to match wine to beer. More information and tickets can be found online or onsite at the FringeTIX box office at the Royal Croquet Club entrance.

Meet the maker Enzo Brezza – March 4

A fourth-generation winemaker from the Italian village of Barolo, Enzo Brezza will host an exclusive tasting of six brackets of his new vintage wines at La Cantina Wines in Campbelltown. The event is limited to 20 seats only. Tickets are $50 per person and include a selection of smallgoods and canapes. Bookings and more information can be found here.

Waymouth Street Party, Adelaide Fringe – March 4

The fourth annual Waymouth Street Party will see the busy CBD street transformed into a carnival atmosphere with food, wine and entertainment on offer as part of the Adelaide Fringe. Waymouth Street traders Press* Food & Wine, Melt, Proof, Kangkong, Bistro Dom, Naya Bar, George’s, Cibo Espresso, Delicatessen Kitchen & Bar, Peppers Waymouth Hotel and the Union Hotel will all be offering refreshments when the festivities kick off at 4pm. More information can be found here.

Friday dinner at Walk the Talk – March 4

Popular Adelaide Hills lunch spot Walk the Talk at Verdun is opening for its first Friday night dinner. The set menu by renowned chef and owner Ali Seedsman will offer two courses, entree and main, with dessert optional and drinks by the glass and bottle. Expect shared plates of pear, halloumi and watercress salad with orange blossom and honey dressing; grilled figs with goat cheese and crispy pancetta; char-grilled sirloin with chimichurri sauce, garlic prawns and sides; and white chocolate panna cotta with plums and raspberry puree. Walk the Talk plans to continue with the dinners each Friday. Bookings recommended by calling 8388 7344.

Jazz High Tea, Adelaide Fringe – March 5 and 12-14

Adding to the tradition of taking afternoon tea in a highbrow way on a three-tier stand, some of Adelaide’s jazz performers are serving live jazz as accompaniment to the sweet and savoury indulgences. Adelaide Fringe’s Jazz High Tea will offer audiences the opportunity to step into The Parlour at the Royal Croquet Club for a glass of sparkling wine, some freshly brewed tea and coffee, and a selection of high-tea treats all set to jazz music by the Odette Mercy Trio, Miss Wonderful, Louise Messenger and The Lucky 7. More information and tickets can be found online or onsite at the FringeTIX box office at the Royal Croquet Club entrance.

Pirate Life First Birthday Party – March 6

To celebrate its first birthday, Pirate Life is holding a street party and doing a “tap takeover” at the Gilbert Street Hotel. Gilbert Street will be blocked off for the event, which runs from midday until 8pm, and Pirate Life’s new IPA, Session IPA, Pale, Double IPA, El Dorado Ale, NZ Pale, Vietnamese Saison and Cerveza Negra Spanish Dark Ale will be on tap inside the hotel while a can bar will be in operation in the street. There will also be a teppanyaki bar and pigs on spits to keep people fed.

Fringe performers Barbu at Pirate Life Brewery recently. Photo: John Kruger

WOMADelaide – March 11 to 14

WOMADelaide this year offers a diverse selection of international cuisines to enjoy with the music, including offerings from Cantina Kangaroo Island, Dinkydi Oysters, Four Seeds, Hanuman Restaurant Adelaide, Johnny Cougar’s Melon Camp, Let Them Eat, Moorish Bites, Parwana and Squid Inc. The Taste the World program hosted by Rosa Matto will again combine exotic flavours, fascinating cultures and moving stories in a cooking presentation when  festival stars swap their instruments for cooking utensils and introduce dishes from their homelands. Jock Zonfrillo’s Street in The Park – The Taste The World Restaurant is also back this year to present 28 dishes from around the world, with each day of the festival offering a new menu at sit-down lunch and dinner sessions complemented by full table service. Bookings are recommended; tickets are $40 and are redeemable against both food and drink. More information is available here.

Hills Gourmet Gallop – March 13

Country picnic racing event the Hills Gourmet Gallop will showcase the region’s food and wine. Local wine producers Sidewood, Somerled, Golding, Hahndorf Hill, Pike & Joyce and Mt Lofty Ranges Wine will be complemented by gourmet food from Quince Catering and Locavore restaurant including lamb burgers, apple pies and vegetarian dishes made using ingredients sourced from the Adelaide Hills. More information can be found here.

East End Wine Down – March 19

Following a sell-out response to last year’s event, East End Cellars is once again hosting the laneway food and wine festival East End Wine Down which transforms Vardon Avenue into a ‘cellar door’ showcase of some of South Australia’s boutique wine producers. Taste more than 100 local wines as well as delicious street-style food from local restaurants Golden Boy, Nola, Mother Vine and Africola. East End Wine Down runs from 12pm to 6pm and tickets are $35. Bookings and information available here.

A scene from last year’s East End Wine Down in Vardon Avenue. Photo: Sebastian Petrovski

A Sicilian Wine Dinner – March 22

Join Mercato Italian wine expert Christian Canala and Publishers Hotel sommelier Clinton Lucas while they host a three-course dinner paired with selected wines from the Mt Etna region of Italy. Enjoy executive chef Daniel Brooks’ menu featuring kingfish carpaccio, local calamari, herring with pancetta, zuppa di pesce and fennel and pork sausage. Numbers are strictly limited and bookings essential. Cost is $125 per person. Bookings can be made by calling The Publishers Hotel on 8212 7969.

Chocolate Woken by Spirits – Tasting Australia – May 1

Join Daniela from Chocolate by Daniela and Marcus from Hains & Co for an immersive hand-made chocolate and specialty rum and gin-tasting experience. This exclusive menu will showcase premium spirits matched to hand-blended ganache and complemented by organic seasonal fruits, exotic spice and fresh botanicals. Chocolate Woken by Spirits is part of the Tasting Australia Festival which runs from May 1 to May 8. The full Tasting Australia 2016 program is now complete and available on the Tasting Australia website.

Other Tasting Australia highlights include the “Lunch in the Company of…” series and the “A Few of My Favourite Things” series, where food and wine identities share their enthusiasm with participants; the Ultimate Cheese Experience at Say Cheese Wholesale; the Single Sites wine tasting at the National Wine Centre; the Lime Cave Degustation at Maxwell Wines; a distillation masterclass; sausage-making and cheese-making classes; Barrel Tasting in the Vale and the secret Origins Dinner. See more details here.

Maxwell Wines lime cave. Photo: supplied

Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend – May 13 to 16

The program for the annual Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend has been released, offering variety of events highlighting the region’s food, wine and hospitality. As well as cluster events such as the Gourmet Hub and Clare Valley Cuisine’s Gourmet Market Day, there are ticketed culinary events and day-trip options, weekend packages and more. And it is rumoured that some of the Clare Valley winemakers will come to Adelaide’s Leigh Street on April 8 for a pop-up city launch event to showcase some of the wines that will be on offer at the Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend. Watch the Clare Valley Wine Facebook page for details.

Losing the plot – until June 26, 2015

Losing the Plot: food gardening in South Australia explores the history of growing food in South Australia. It examines the stories behind the food on our plates from Aboriginal food production and school and community gardens to the home garden and market gardens in SA, and is accompanied by a program of workshops and talks focussing on food gardening and the use of garden produce in preserving and cooking.

News, tips and information?

The Forager would love to hear about your news, events and suggestions. Please contact us at [email protected].