This week in The Forager: no more golf for Kent Town pub, SA’s pub burger challenge, new branding for free-range eggs, Mediterranean cooking classes and more.
Pub’s golf link is gone
Australia’s only golf-themed hotel, The Tap Inn in Kent Town, is no more.
The unusual pub will return to its old name – The Kent Town Hotel – in November after extensive renovations that have thrown out the idea that seemed so appealing back in 2006.
Owner Tom Hannah and his business partners spent $12 million in 2005 turning the old Kent Town into a pub with an indoor driving range and roof-top simulated golf courses.
Everything in the Tap Inn was somehow connected to the game of golf. Beer taps were old persimmon driver heads, and carvings from each hole at Augusta National were set into the front bar.
Large imposing statues of famous golfers (Greg Norman, Annika Sorenstam and others) dominated the bar and there were plenty of pictures on the walls of famous golf courses.
In the years since it opened in January 2006, a couple of lease-holders have come and gone and Hannah has returned to undo what was his dream – a pub that combined golf and beer.
The golf range is gone – it’s being turned into a restaurant and gaming area – while the old Birdies Restaurant is a now a function room.
The reno was due to be completed this month, but The Forager understands it’s been pushed back to November.
It was a nice idea, but too many bucks parties were bringing the wrong crowd into what was one of Adelaide’s most popular bistro-style pubs. So the Tap Inn has all but putted out and the Kent Town will return.
– Kevin Naughton
Best of the burgers
As the burger bandwagon continues to build momentum with another new burger joint – healthy burger outlet Grill’d – about to open on Rundle Street, the Royal Adelaide Show Pub Burger Challenge has shone a light on some of the best burgers around the state.
The competition is open to Australian Hotel Association South Australia members only, and stipulates that the burger patty must be made in-house from minced or shredded beef or lamb and be priced under $25.
This year’s competition saw 12 finalists – including last year’s winner The Hackney Hotel – who presented a tasty range of gourmet offerings in front of a big crowd in the IGA Pavilion at the Adelaide Showgrounds. Entries were judged on taste (50 per cent), presentation (20 per cent), meat quality (20 per cent) and value for money (10 per cent).
The winner was The Moo Baa (pictured right, $20), from the Watermark Hotel at Glenelg – a 250g Wagyu beef patty, pulled lamb, hickory-smoked barbecue sauce, cider-braised onions, American mustard, melted Jarlsberg cheese and mixed lettuce.
Other standouts included:
The Rising Sun Burger ($18.50), Rising Sun Hotel at Auburn in the Clare Valley – a 200g Black Angus rump steak patty, local Mathies’ smoked bacon, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickles and house-made relish in a “Clare Rise” toasted bun;
The Works Wagyu Burger ($17.50), Mount Gambier Hotel – a 200g Wagyu beef patty, café de Paris butter, cheese, lettuce, house-made ginger and tomato relish, battered onion rings, fried egg and miso sesame mayo;
The TA Beef Burger ($15), Torrens Arms Hotel – a char-grilled beef patty, smoky bacon, cheese, tomato relish, dill cucumber and salad.
Learn to cook the Auge way
Auge Ristorante and Spuntini Bar is holding two Mediterranean cooking classes next week.
Spring into Sicily on Wednesday, September 17, takes in the flavours and methods of the Italian island of Sicily, while the Greek Island Cooking Class on Thursday, September 18, will be given by Auge owner Terry Soukoulis and his mum Maritsa.
Cost per class is $120 per person and includes three courses, wine and recipes. More information can be found here.
And you can register here to be in the running for Auge’s “After Work Perks”, a complimentary antipasto platter and $20 bar tab to share with a group of five friends or colleagues.
One-stop shop for KI produce
The provenance of regional food has been a subject of much discussion recently – with the Barossa coming in for particular attention, and not all of it good.
Kangaroo Island producers are now making a play to attract mainland consumers who are interested in regional produce, opening a stall devoted to island food at the Central Market.
Island Pure opened its market stall on Tuesday, with an extensive range of island produce for sale.
Island Pure is a sheep milk dairy, producing a range of cheeses and yoghurts. But the stall also features food from more than 25 other island producers, including Fryar’s Eggs, seafood from Ferguson Australia, Kangaroo Island Abalone and honey from Island Beehive.
Ten of the producers are selling their products off-island for the first time. You can find Island Pure at stall 16/17.
Free-range eggs – how do you tell?
You can’t. You have to trust that what is printed on the egg carton is true.
However, that trust will soon be backed up by a code of practice and a certified trademark for compliant free-range egg producers.
It has been proposed that South Australian free-range egg producers wanting accreditation must meet the following requirements:
- A maximum of 1500 laying hens per hectare in a free-range system;
- Access to a minimum of eight hours outdoors;
- Sufficient overhead shade;
- No induced moulting. (Induced moulting is the forced shedding of feathers through dietary manipulation to induce regrowth and the rejuvenation of the hens’ reproductive tracts for egg quality improvement.)
While the SA code is still being finalised, the public has been invited to vote on how the certification mark or “stamp of approval” will look for easy recognition. Make your choice here.
OzAsia food
Tea-smoked duck and marbled eggs anyone?
Chef Simon Bryant will present cooking demonstrations of dishes in which tea is a defining ingredient at the Infused: All About Tea event at the Migration Museum this Sunday.
Part of the OzAsia Festival,the free day will include cultural performances, food, art and family activities presented by local communities, including Chinese and Japanese tea ceremony demonstrations, food stalls and T-Bar tea tastings. More information can be found here.
