Words by Teyha Nicholas Images supplied
Ballarat’s favourite tourist spot Sovereign Hill will come alive this Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May with three top chefs headlining a weekend of food, fun and family.
Heritage Harvest Weekend, now in its delightful Autumn Series, is a celebration of all things old-school, with a real focus on local, fresh produce and cooking techniques. The event will span two days and sees a range of family-friendly tutorials, games and workshops sure to make you forget about your iPhone and pine for a horse and cart.
Top chefs Jo Barrett (Future Food System), Jung Eun Chae (CHAE) and Derek Boath (Underbar) will be welcomed to the Victorian Theatre for six special workshops, guided and facilitated by the former chief restaurant critic for The Age, Gemima Cody. Punters are encouraged to come along and learn about the important arts of preserving, pickling, distilling, curing, drying and fermenting – as well as why local, fresh and seasonal produce are the heroes of these chef’s tables.
Saturday’s sessions belong to Jo Barrett and Jung Eun Chae and will take guests through two very different, yet very intriguing demonstrations. Barrett, an accomplished chef whose days are split between Oakridge Winery and the part art installation, part environmental activist manifesto Future Food System, delights in creating delicious food with a tiny carbon footprint. Her session focuses on unveiling the flavours in proteins of the future; think crickets and alternate meats, as well as the many oft-forgotten foods right under our noses like tiger nuts and grass.
Jung Eun Chae, the legendary Korean chef behind the eponymous six-seat restaurant CHAE, will be guiding folks through the ancient fermenting techniques behind soy sauce, sake and kimchi. In a fast-paced world, her slow cooking produces food that has rarely tasted so good, so best to pay attention to this one.
Sunday sees Ballarat’s own star chef Derek Boath of the well-known yet mysterious Underbar, take to the stage for a classical French style cooking class with a native Australian spin. A chef with the courage in his conviction, he’ll be walking visitors through dishes like wattle seed and lemon myrtle pot de crème sure to wow any guest.
Aside from the food extravaganza, there are plenty of other events across the weekend for all to enjoy. From bowling to candle-making, mine tours to backyard beekeeping, Heritage Harvest Weekend is not to be missed. Tickets on sale via their website.
THE DETAILS
WHAT: Heritage Harvest Weekend | Autumn Series
WHERE: Sovereign Hill, Ballarat
WHEN: Saturday 28 – Sunday 29 May
TICKETS: Admission – $39 for an adult | $20 for a child | $99 for a family
MORE INFO: Heritage Harvest Weekend
We wish to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
