Eating for Australia — the dinner designed to deliver a tourism boom
TOURISM Australia is banking on a food-inspired visitor rush following the most extravagant dinner ever staged down under.
Dishes as diverse as roasted wallaby tail and smoked and confit pig jowl were served up to over 80 international food snobs at the grand finale of the $40 million Restaurant Australia campaign in Hobart.
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The celebrity chefs, food writers, critics and presenters were invited to the gala dinner because of their “influence” over a collective audience of more than 400 million fans and followers.
Royalty...American cookbook queen Alice Water arrives in Hobart for the Restaurant Australia gala dinner.
Picture: Graham Denholm/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Chefs Neil Perry, Peter Gilmore and Ben Shewry pulled out all stops to impress the gourmands over four courses, served in different locations on the way to and in the Museum of Old and New Art.
Starting with fresh oysters at Elizabeth Street Pier, the diners were then ushered on to boats for the “Earth, Fire and Water” course featuring King George Whiting, charcoal grilled Blue Ridge marron, and wood road Tassie lobster.
Earth, Fire and Water course...The striking West Australian blue marron was among the stars of the Restaurant Australia gala dinner. Picture: Supplied
Course number two combined “art and produce” in meals such as South Australian red kangaroo, smoked and confit pig jowl, and grilled sirloin with a braised cheek oxtail and tea smoked oyster red curry.
The final dishes dubbed “Sticky and Sweet” were delivered from an ice cream cart, and accompanied by date tart and mango gelato.
Guests were also among the first in the world to sample a raw milk blue cheese produced in Australia — the only one of its kind outside France.
Chef extraordinaire...World renowned chef Heston Blumenthal was among the guests Tourism Australia hoped to impress at last night’s Restaurant Australia gala dinner. Picture: Nicole Cleary Source: News Corp Australia
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said the campaign had closed a “significant gap in the perceptions of Australia’s food and wine offering”.
“What our Restaurant Australia Head Chefs pulled together and the setting in which the meal was served was nothing short of breathtaking and has truly demonstrated the exceptional quality and unique produce we have on offer here in Australia,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
Not pretty to look at but awfully good to eat...the Tasmanian Lobster which was among the fresh Australian seafood showcased by chefs at the Restaurant Australia dinner in Hobart last night. Picture: News Corp. Source: News Limited
“We hope all of our guests head home today with the taste of Australia still firmly imprinted on their palate, and we look forward to them sharing their experiences with their many followers.”
Mr Shewry, from Melbourne’s Attica restaurant, said Australia’s isolation from the rest of the world meant we could cook in our own individual expressive ways.
“We are not inhibited by centuries-old tradition and this can be a strength,” he said.
“This is one of the most unique destinations for dining in the world.”
Source: NEWS.com.au November 14th 2014
