You don’t have to travel too far to truly appreciate the unique quality of Australian food and wine … and fairly soon, the rest of the world will be getting a taste.
Melbourne is hosting the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards in April but it’s the program of activity around the occasion that will showcase our chefs, restaurateurs, produce, wine and culinary diversity to foodies everywhere.
The awards are decided by the votes of more than 1000 of the world’s most influential palates. The crème de la crème of international sommeliers, food critics, journalists and restaurant legends are on their way Downunder for this serious epicurean party.
While they’re here, Tourism Australia has put together some spectacular itineraries it hopes will escalate our international profile as a wining and dining hotspot.
See if you agree that these experiences are among the best of what Australia has to offer the world:
- Beach dining and flying over the Great Ocean Road and Twelve Apostles, diving for abalone, cooking on the beach and meals at Brae and The Royal Mail Hotel.
- Exploring NSW’s 300km-long South Coast Oyster Trail, meeting local growers and sampling oysters fresh from the waters of Pambula and Tathra along the way.
- Incredible dining feasts in secluded locations only accessible by helicopter in the Northern Territory.
- Barramundi fishing, dining under the stars at El Questro and enjoying the ultimate in outback indulgence at Berkeley River Lodge with heli-fishing in remote locations in the Kimberley in far north Western Australia.
- Sailing, snorkelling and diving the Great Barrier Reef, feasting on the best seafood.
- Art meets food in Tasmania with seafood, farmers market and Hobart’s world-class Museum of Old and New Art (Mona).
- Cellar door tour of famed Clonakilla Winery, and a tour of Australia’s largest indigenous art collection at the National Gallery of Australia and sampling coffee by Australia’s Barista Champion.
- Discovering the best of South Australia’s fresh produce, unique flavours and acclaimed wine, including the Barossa’s newest luxury cellar door and dining experience at St Hugo as well as a visit to Australia’s seafood capital on a hunt-and-gather seafood experience.
The World’s Best 50 Restaurants Awards were held in London for the first 14 years and then New York last year. Melbourne has the honour of hosting the event on April 5 – coinciding with the 25th Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (March 31-April 9) – with the full program of national events from April 1-7.
At number 33, Melbourne’s Attica was the only Australian restaurant in the top 50 last year and it will be interesting to see if hosting the event this time around means we’ll get more on the list.
After the Awards dinner, the 26 Influencers who chair the voting for the awards – and who selected the 1000+ global food identities who did the voting – will be heading to South Australia where they’ll experience the best of the region’s vineyards in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley, meet with local producers and South Australian chefs, and dine in some of the state’s best restaurants as part of their two-day annual general meeting.
The official Academy Dinner, a key event in the two-day program, will be held on Friday at Hentley Farm, one of South Australia’s best restaurants.
Other highlights of the program include;
- Wild Adelaide Welcome Feast in the Adelaide Hills with Orana chef Jock Zonfrillo, known for his use of native Australian ingredients, and Duncan Welgemoed from Africola cooking wild South Australian produce over fire; a bush breakfast with kangaroos; and a helicopter tour over the Barossa, landing at the famous Steingarten Vineyard for a St Hugo Riesling tasting experience.
Wine Australia, Official Wine Partner of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, will invite 50 of the best sommeliers in the world to discover Australia’s incredible wine offering in April.
The group will include sommeliers from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the Best Sommelier in the World competition and top sommeliers in New Zealand and Australia. Wine Australia has also selected a panel of renowned Australian wine experts to choose the wines being served across the official program of events.