For Braising Boy’s Daniel Gill, the lead-up to a food and drinks event like Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel sends his mind and emotions into overdrive.

“I think a sense of anticipation would be an understatement,” Gill said.

“There’s stress and anxiety before every sort of service, let alone an event like this where we are trying to get everything ready and make sure it’s all up to scratch.”

This will be Braising Boy’s first year at Town Square. The high-profile event will be a baptism by fire for Gill who, six months ago, gave up a career as a tradie to follow his passion for Mexican street food.

Town Square has long been the hub of the festival and home to deliciously diverse eating and drinking experiences. With free entry and everyone welcome, it’s seen as a must-do for an afterwork drink and meal or a night out with kids.

As well, it’s home to the Dining Galleries presented by Mitolo Family Farms and the University of Adelaide Masterclass Pavilion, which draws in people keen to hear the stars of the kitchen share their stories and food.

Part restaurant, part art showcase – Dining Galleries will feature the best and brightest in global hospitality

Gill’s plan to keep thousands of customers happy across the 10 days revolves around putting lots of time and effort into the prep and “a bit of love” into the cooking.

For his birria tacos that means braising the beef shin, oyster blade and brisket in guajillo and ancho chillies and spices for up to 12 hours. When serving, he will use the richly flavoured fat, skimmed from the top of the braise, to crisp up the soft corn tacos on the grill.

“It makes a beautiful, crispy, spicy tortilla,” he said.

The filling for his pork belly taco will be twice cooked – first slowly in pork fat, citrus and beer for several hours, then diced and caramelised on the hot plate – to deliver a crispy exterior to the tender, juicy morsels.

There will also be a roasted sweet potato taco, topped with almond and roasted capsicum salsa, feta, spring onion and shallots.

Braising Boy’s style of Mexican is one of the hottest cuisines in the US food truck scene today

Gill’s recipes reflect his love for the variation of Mexican street food and tacos coming out of the US. Gill spent time in Phoenix, Austin, Dallas and California last year, exploring local restaurants and the food truck scene.

He’s well prepared for this food and wine festival, but he’s not cocky about it.

“I feel a bit nervous to be honest, because the people I’ll be working next to at Town Square are some established outfits,” he said.

This year’s Town Square vendors will include Africola Canteen, Peel St Restaurant and Kuti Shack, to name only a few.

Kuti Shack co-owner and front of house Vanessa Button is the co-owner is similarly modest. She called the restaurant – which has elevated sustainably harvested Goolwa pipis to rock star status – a “little 40-seater” in the sand dunes.

Last year, Kuti Shack served up half a tonne of the shellfish along with 350 dozen Gazander oysters from Coffin Bay. The popularity of oysters during last year’s cold weather surprised the team, who shucked every one on-site.

“We thought, oh god, we’ve lined up too many, but we sold out,” Button said.

The pipis were also highly popular and this year they will be done “a little bit different” with chilli jam and lemongrass.

Kuti Shack will be serving up sustainable seafood, including mulloway wing with green mango salad

Button said cooking at Town Square added another level of excitement for the team, even though they are used to working under challenging conditions.

“We have a tiny, little kitchen … but it’s good to be innovative and design a menu around a really fast paced service. Everything’s hot ‘n’ heavy, which is really good,” she said.

Spending time with other people in the industry was another highlight from last year’s event.

“Back of house, we all share one little dish room and there’s great camaraderie, which we absolutely loved, being from a regional restaurant,” she said.

“We don’t have the same kind of hospo vibe [in Goolwa] that CBD restaurants do. It was really cool to go out and have a drink [after each night] with other restaurateurs.

“It was really good team building for our staff – everyone wants to work there again this year.”

Button is “very proud” to work with the local Ngarrindjeri people on bringing pipis to a wider audience.

“We’ve engaged with Derek Walker, a Ngarrindjeri elder, on a few projects over the five years we’ve been here, and we’ve been lucky enough to go out and see where they fish pipis in the Coorong National Park,” she said.

“It is absolutely gorgeous and something I don’t think that many South Australians really get to see. It’s quite iconic and a bit unusual as a tourist destination.”

That memorable experience has been the inspiration for an intimate 30-person Kurrangk/Coorong Long Lunch on the beach in the national park, surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the dunes.

Talking again about Town Square, Button said there was a “great buzz” at last year’s event, which included warming fires for people to sociably gather around.

This year, the drinks on offer will include a winter cocktail – Hot Apple Jack served warm with fig-infused Ambleside Small Acre Gin, apple brandy, lemon juice, pear cider, cinnamon and vanilla cream.

Seppeltsfield’s chief winemaker Fiona Donald will also host A Taste of History in the RAA Travel Lounge in Town Square for one night only offering a tasting of their 1924 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny.

For Braising Boy’s Gill, Town Square will be an opportunity to introduce his favourite food to a much larger audience.

“I love the whole California food truck scene … and I think the market in Adelaide is pretty small for Mexican. So, I thought, why not,” he said.

Why not, indeed!

Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel is Australia’s premier food and beverage festival. The 2024 program features more than 150 events across the state, with the festival running for 10 days from Friday, 3 May to Sunday, 12 May.

Find Town Square opening hours and more here.