A whole month to taste the Riverina!
Published: 18th September 2012
RDA Riverina (New South Wales) Riverina Regional Tourism, and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute have collaborated in a month-long festival that will see food and wine events with an Italian twist take place in towns throughout the region during October 2012. The Taste Riverina Food Festival will celebrate the Riverina’s diverse and quality produce, as well as the agricultural industries that grow it.
Taste Riverina is a follow-on initiative to the very successful 100 Mile Challenge event that was conducted as part of the CRAVE Sydney International Food Festival in 2011.
RDA Riverina partnered with TAFE NSW Riverina Institute last year to support the CRAVE 100 Mile event that showcased local produce as well as some of the regions young chefs.
Agriculture and its related industries form a significant component of the Riverina’s economy. Celebrating the growing and preparing of local food is also a great experience for visitors.
“The Taste Riverina Food Festival is a wonderful way to showcase the region and the project has also supported and encouraged local people to mobilise and work collaboratively to create events and activities that are genuine to their community,” said RDA Riverina Executive Officer Lani Houston.
This is a community capacity building project that will create economic returns for the region and RDA Riverina has worked with its partners to launch a comprehensive event website.
Riverina Regional Tourism Executive Officer, Linda Tillman, said the website provided people with a full list of individual events, as well as added extras like a blog, accommodation and tourism information on the Riverina and information on all of the celebrity chefs taking part in the festival.
“It’s so exciting to see in such a short amount of time that we have come from having this little idea, to having developed a totally new website with a full program of events set down,” Ms Tillman said.
Some of the major events happening throughout the month include 100-mile meals in Coleambally, The Rock, Wagga Wagga and Griffith, as well as the grand opening event at the Junee Liquorice and Chocolate Factory on Friday 5 October 2012 from 6pm.
Ms Tillman said other events ranged from a picnic on the leafy banks of the Murrumbidgee, to the Bishop’s Lodge plains produce market in Hay, a Homemade Gnocchi and live music events.
“Celebrity chefs Dominique Rizzo, Nino Zoccali and Paul Mercurio will all be involved in the festival, with each of them hosting or attending different events throughout the month.”
For more information, visit the Taste Riverina Food Festival website.
For more information, visit the RDA Riverina website.
(Pictured above) left to right: Lisa Turner The Rock Pre School, Jo Colvin Knights Meats, Marg Couch RDA Riverina, Linda Tillman Riverina Regional Tourism, Tania Sibrey Food I am, preparing for the festival launch at Junee Licquorice Factory.