Feast and Forage: A Taste of Australia’s Freshest

From fruit picking to truffle hunting, Australia offers dining straight from the source. 

Why wait for your food when you can have it ASAP? That’s right, you can pick your food straight from the forest, trees or seas across Australia. Stretching from Perth to Tasmania, you can dig into some of the freshest and juiciest produce gathered straight from its source.  With truffle hunting and oyster shucking on the menu, you will surely be unable to resist these food-centric expeditions.

Truffle Kerfuffle (23-25 June)

Forage for one of the world’s most prized delicacies, the black Perigord truffle, at the annual Truffle Kerfuffle festival in Manjimup, a three-hour drive from Perth. Don’t miss out on the chance to join truffle hunts with resident hounds, tuck into meals prepared by some of Australia’s top chefs and hone your cooking skills with truffle master classes. You will be delighted to know that many chefs incorporate regional produce such as chestnuts, cherries and wine into their dishes. Soak in the festival atmosphere, catch free demonstrations and entertainment on the festival grounds, and learn about the farmers, producers, winemakers and community that make up the Southern Forests.   

Tropical Fruit World

Less than an hour’s drive from the Gold Coast, you can check out the world’s largest variety of tropical fruits at the Tropical Fruit World plantation, which takes visitors on guided tours and unique fruit-pairing tastings. Have you ever tasted a cheese fruit or ice-cream bean? Intrigued? Sign up for a fruit-tasting session where your taste buds will be tickled by exciting and exotic fruity flavours you never knew existed. 

And what’s a fruit farm visit without authentic experiences? Enjoy a taste of fruit-farm living by riding a tractor train and sampling seasonal harvests on a plantation safari.

Tasmanian Seasood Seduction

Savour the best of Tasmania’s produce at its freshest by embarking on the Tasmanian Seafood Seduction cruise. Starting from Hobart, the cruise, which takes up to 12 guests per trip, sails past breathtaking coastal scenery while you enjoy a range of fresh local produce including freshly shucked oysters and rock lobsters. Sit back, relax and breathe in the crisp air while your guide dives for Tasmanian abalone and sea urchin. Then be thrilled as the fresh catch is turned into a delicious seafood feast, paired with local gourmet produce and Tasmanian wine, beer and cider. Visitors will also get a peek into local aquafarming practices, with a visit to the Tassal salmon farm — benchmarked as the world’s leading salmon farmer.