Overview
Fresh from curating Laneway's gourmet food menu, acclaimed Longsong chef David Moyle will join Flinders Island residents for the inaugural Food and Crayfish Festival. Taking place across April 14 and 15, the weekend festivities will focus on a special long lunch, celebrating the wealth of fresh produce and ingredients available on the island.
To cook up a storm, Moyle has invited fellow chefs James Viles from Biota, Mark LaBrooy from Three Blue Ducks, and Matt Stone and Jo Barrett from Oakridge Wines to join him in creating the April 14 beachside feast. In line with the festival's first theme —Mother Nature + Human Nature — the quintet will spend a week on the island visiting local producers, foraging and diving to create the perfect menu.
"It is such a great treat as a chef to be able to cook dishes directly from the location and connected to the land you are standing on" Moyle noted.
Because all great meals need a nice drop to go with them, sommelier Alice Chugg from Hobart bar and bottleshop Ettie's will join the chefs, matching their culinary delights with a selection of Tasmanian wines and beverages.
Fish for the festival will come from the island's only crayfish fisherman, 74-year-old Jack Wheatly, who captures the ocean's bounty like his father and grandfather before him. Other celebrated ingredients to be incorporated into the festival include saltgrass lamb, wallaby and mutton bird.
The exact beach location of the lunch will be revealed 48 hours before the event, taking into account the microclimate. Islanders will lend chairs from their own dining tables for the event, and the local 'Men's Shed' is crafting the long tables for the lunch.
Open to only 100 'off-islanders', tickets for the lunch — which has a dress code of barefoot cocktail — are currently available for the grand price of $240.
Flinders Island Food and Crayfish Festival takes place across April 14 and 15 on Flinders Island. Visit www.visitflindersisland.com.au for tickets and further details.
Image: Kara Hynes.