Maryborough’s popular Relish Food & Wine Festival is back for one schmooze + booze-filled day of good food and even better regional wines on Saturday, June 1.
We all know how serious Aussies are about food spreads (Vegemite, anyone?), so when it comes to Relish, you bet your bottom dollar everyone’s packing their bags and heading north to the Fraser Coast this June weekend!
Thinking of coming with? Find your perfect guide to this food-filled fest below!
THE NIGHT BEFORE
We love a good road trip as much as the next person, but lord knows what it’s done to our previous-few muscles and joints.
Best to stretch out before the festival by booking one night at any one of Maryborough’s great accommodation options! While there are great spots such as the Best Western Kimba Lode or La Pief’s on Treasure to rest up in before the big day, in a country town like Maryborough, it’s safe to say Airbnb with its cute bed ‘n’ breakfasts reign supreme.
Happy scrolling!
THE DAY OF
10:30am Ready, steady, cook – the festival has officially begun with celebrity chef Matt Golinsky taking centre stage! Head into Mary River Parklands to watch the man, the myth, the legend, take you through a 45-minute culinary journey filled with local produce, fresh ingredients, and hearty home-cooking techniques.
11:00am Just when you thought Aussie food couldn’t get any better than the iconic chiko roll, in comes Relish’s Bush Food Cooking Demonstrations to challenge! Setting up in Gatakers Court are resourceful regional chefs blessing visitors with cooking demos and samples of everything from Bunya pesto and Warrigal spring rolls to Lemon myrtle biscuits and true-blue rissoles. Yummo.
1:15pm All that relishing in the outdoors sure makes one thirsty. Skip and sip your way one-minute down the road to Customs House, where a delicious wine and cheesecake event is taking place. For just $35pp, lounge on the historic lawn while enjoying five of the regions best dessert wines paired perfectly with sweet cheesecake creations straight from the Vineyard Kitchen!
For those enjoying this gourmet festival on a gourmand budget, we suggest hopping over for a paddle at Mary River Parkland’s onsite craft beer bar instead! Besides being chock-a-block with the best draughts from local breweries, this bar also boasts a giant dart board for all to enjoy. Bullseye!
2:00pm What’s a Relish Food & Wine Festival without a little… well, relish?
Good thing Permaculture Realfood’s Elizabeth Fekonia is setting up a cheesemaking and sourdough workshop filled with all sorts of tasty condiments and spreads that aim to cheese! While there are several timeslots available, the $10pp workshop at 2:00pm is the one that most pickles our fancy with its delicious offer of cook-and-take-home sauerkraut, alongside fellow fermented buddies kimchi, kefir, and bean pate.
3:00pm We love you, Mum, but the rule ‘don’t play with your food’ doesn’t apply at this festival’s Colour from the Kitchen workshop. All about that natural DIY dye, join local contemporary textile artist Jenai Hooke and learn how to create your own gorgeous silk tags and cards from carrots, beetroots, onions, turmeric, and cabbage in a way that both children and adults will enjoy!
4:00pm As the festival winds down, pull up a lawn chair at the Optus main stage and grab a glass from the nearby The Bond Store or Gatakers Bar & Courtyard just in time to hear the dynamic Soul City band perform! Jazzy horns, a driving four-piece rhythm section, and two lead singers all in the one band… what a perfect way to end the day.
Tickets to this year’s Relish Food & Wine Festival can be purchased here.
