Food lovers will have a chance to experience regional food, drink and wellness from across the region at Eat Drink Live New England on November 10.
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There are 48 stallholders showcasing the best the region has to offer, but it’s hard to believe that such a wide variety of exotic produce could be harvested in just one region.
“My motivation was to help raise awareness of what is produced in our region and to use great ingredients,” said Sean Taylor, who launched the festival four years ago.
Though smaller than other food events, the stallholders have been handpicked to impress.
Mr Taylor first approached Kay Bridge of Andelaine Farm (Lower Creek) at the Armidale Markets three years ago. Her farm enjoys a subtropical microclimate that is suitable for turmeric and ginger, and where bananas and hazelnuts grow side by side.
“There’s an open gorge, and some areas have frost whereas others are humid,” she said, adding that even the drought did not have an affect on the crop. “We actually got rain and have a permanent creek that continued watering our garlic crop. What we have noticed is an increase in temperatures, and garlic is sensitive to that.”
Nearer to Inverell, Olives of Beaulieu sits in a Mediterranean pocket. It’s New England, but it may well be Greece as far as olives are concerned. Not only does the Rolse family grow olives, but they also manufacture exotic spices used in the Mediterranean, Asia and India.
Owner Tracey Rolse said that this year will be her second time at the festival. “It’s got a great atmosphere and we manage to enjoy a lot of sales on the day,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to get to know us.”
The festival is also known for its great range of wines. “The wines in the region are as good as anywhere else,” said Andrew Amos of Woolaway Wines (Moree). “We have very good quality high altitude wines and some very good hooter climate wines.”
Apart from a hike in orders in the after-show sales, Mr Amos enjoys coming to the festival and meeting with other growers. The real winners are the visitors who get to sample the wines and really enjoy the variety of tastes the region has to offer.
Guest chef Luke Hines (of “My Kitchen Rules” fame) will be at the festival with cooking demos.
Running from 8am to 3pm, entry to the market day is by gold coin donation. The bar will open after 11am. Evans Street will be closed from Friday noon until Saturday, 5pm.
STALLHOLDERS AT THIS YEAR’S EAT DRINK LIVE NEW ENGLAND
- 2 Wild Soul Meadery, “Fairview” (Torrington)
- AB Walsh Handcrafted Knives (Inverell)
- Aboriginelle Designs (Inverell)
- Andelaine Farm (Lower Creek)
- Armidale City Public School P&C
- Best Nursery (Inverell)
- Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd (Inverell)
- Deanos Spring Water Smoked Trout (Black Mountain)
- Deepwater Brewing Co (Deepwater)
- Farm Gate Nursery (Inverell)
- Glen Gowrie Distillery (Glen Innes)
- Go Create! New England (Kentucky)
- Grandmas Garden & Poultry (Bundarra)
- Hey Joe (Inverell)
- Inverell Community Garden
- Inverell Council and Library
- Juans Café Del Fuego (Glen Innes)
- Happy Chooks Free Range Eggs (Swanvale)
- Makim Beautiful (Inverell)
- Olives of Beaulieu (Inverell)
- Patisserie Fe Fi Fo (Inverell)
- Ponds Road Pottery (Gilgai)
- Premier Farm House (Inverell)
- Richard Moon Wearable Silver & Silverware (Deepwater)
- Sass & Hide (Delungra)
- Sew Anna (Inverell)
- Embers & Smoke (Inverell)
- smo-king barbeque (Inverell)
- Splitters Swamp Vineyards (Bolivia)
- Sunhill Dairy Goats (Uralla)
- TAFE NSW (Tamworth)
- The Big Salami (Coffs Harbour)
- The Brew Shed (Inverell)
- The Dust Jacket (Inverell)
- The Welders Dog/Red Dog Brewing Pty Ltd (Armidale)
- Toppers Mountain Winery (Tingha)
- Treasured Traditions (Boggabri)
- U Goose (Llangothlin)
- Wellards Artisan Bakehouse (Inverell)
- Woolaway Wines (Moree)
- Zappa Wines (Tenterfield)
- 3 Wild Soul Meadery (Inverell)