We had attended the first Tasting Australia in 1997, and this year my partner Robert Carmack was asked to create the menu,  and I was asked to design the event.  We said YES.

Some 133 locals,  interstate and overseas attendees were feted over five hours,  wined and dined all with local, regional, state and Australian foods and wines, from salt to pepper, Murray cod, lamb shanks and even local pulses and flours. Entitled “Farm Gates & Fire Pits” in honour of Mallee farmers and their local customs, we stared out the back of the Lameroo Memorial Hall, which is both a stage and cinema. For the first hour people ate French rillettes, tapenade and hummus  drinking Ricca Terra sparkling while listening to Edith Piaf channelled through chanteuse Michaela Burger.  Then, with women in heels and finery, men in their best RM Williams, wranglers cracked their whips to herd everyone up sheep ramps into the theatre.The entrance into the dining room was a cacophony of Edith Piaf silhouettes, projections of campfires and rustic gates, music and fog machines.

I interviewed many of the kids of parents who attended the dinner. They were projected on the screen through the night.