In addition to truffles, the Winter Market will feature seasonal produce from local growers in the Southern Harvest network. Photo: Southern Harvest.
Local food and farming co-operative Southern Harvest is encouraging Canberrans to embrace the season with a three-day Winter Festival of food, fire and farming. The flagship event of the broader truffle season, Winter Festival brings together local producers, chefs and businesses to showcase the best fresh produce from the Canberra region.
A bonfire will kick off celebrations on the evening of Friday, 8 August. Local farm Branch & Burrow will be roasting a whole pig on a spit, while Le Cheeserie will be dishing up truffled toasties. Hold Fast Distillery will serve seasonal cocktails, and guests can enjoy indulgent, boozy hot chocolate from Ambrosia Distillery. A DJ will be on hand, and sparklers will be available for the kids to add to the evening’s entertainment.
Bonfire Night is a new addition to the Winter Festival this year, and will feature spit-roaster pork, truffle toasties and boozy hot chocolates! Photo: Southern Harvest
Southern Harvest general manager Ruth Gaha-Morris told Region that winter in Canberra has lots to offer.
“Truffles are often the headline item of winter in Canberra. We want to use people’s interest in local truffles to show that there is lots of great produce at this time of year,” she said.
“New season olive oil has been pressed, new vintage wines are being released, and we’ve got all those beautiful root vegetables and brassicas that are getting sweeter from the frosts.”
All this (and more) will be available at the Winter Market on Saturday, 9 August, with other stallholders selling locally made preserves, crafts, fibre and ready-to-eat foods. There will also be live music and wine tastings available on the day. The Winter Market was held for the first time last year and proved to be hugely successful.
You can eat seasonal produce throughout the year in the Canberra region. Photo: Southern Harvest.
Sunday’s program of events centres around a long lunch hosted by Contentious Character. They’ll be serving a four-course meal using local produce, which can also be paired with their wines. A vegetarian menu is also available, and truffles can be added as a luxe upgrade!
Attendees are encouraged to get hands-on with a truffle cooking demonstration from French Chef and truffle farmer Christophe Gregoire, or experience a cocktail-making workshop at Ambrosia Lounge.
The extended three-day program is modelled on Southern Harvest’s popular Bungendore Harvest Festival, which has run annually in April for 11 years.
“We love celebrating different kinds of seasonal produce and showcasing to people that you can eat a local diet 52 weeks of the year,” Ruth said.
“Events like the Winter Festival are a wonderful opportunity to connect with the people who grow our food, and experience the joy of eating seasonally.”
The festival has been rescheduled from 25 to 27 July to 8 to 10 August due to wet weather concerns.
Bonfire Night runs from 6 pm until late on Friday, 8 August, at The Vault, 1 Dairy Road.
Winter Market runs from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday, 9 August, at 1 Dairy Road.
The program of events on Sunday, 10 August, is ticketed. Find out more on the Southern Harvest website.
Follow Winter Festival on Facebook, and Southern Harvest on Instagram.
Lucy Ridge is also an employee of Southern Harvest Co-operative.
