To promote travel to Australia, organizers of the third annual G'Day Toronto Australia Week held a luncheon for 65 members of the media at Crush Wine Bar Wednesday—complete with boomerangs, Aussie wine tastings, and a lesson in the country's local fare. "The journey to developing this event was an interesting one in that one of the areas we're hoping to develop over the next 12 to 18 months is food and wine in Australia. More specifically, we want to talk about the produce and how that relates to having a vacation experience," said Darryl Hudson, Tourism Australia's country manager for Canada.
"We want people to start exploring Australia from a food and wine perspective," he said. "It's all about getting out and meeting the maker—the wine maker, the cheese maker—it adds a lot of value to a person's vacation." Hudson called on Food Network chef Michael Smith and author Anita Stewart, both of whom recently visited Australia, to cohost the luncheon, which is part of a series of events being held around the city during the weeklong campaign promoting Australia-Canada business relations. Additional events included a policy forum on climate change hosted by the Australian High Commission and 75th anniversary luncheon hosted by Wolf Blass.
Smith, who hosts programs like Chef at Home and the new series Chef Abroad, talked about his experience filming in Australia with Mark Olive, a high-profile Indigenous chef who traveled to Toronto to prepare Wednesday's lunch with the staff at Crush. "The menu features a combination of Australian and local produce," Hudson said. Guests dined on oven-roasted wild barramundi served with pickled ginger on a pineapple and mango salsa, native herb-encrusted kangaroo tail, and lamingtons (an Australian dessert made with sponge cake, Chantilly cream, chocolate sauce, and toasted coconut shards).
Stewart discussed Australia’s food culture and representatives from Wine Australia were on hand to offer samples of Australian wines like DeBortoli Emeri Sparkling Shiraz and Skillogalee Riesling. "It's important to understand how these wines work with Canadian produce," said Hudson, who filled the King Street West restaurant with items intended to offer "a contemporary take on elements people associate with Australia." Displays featuring didgeridoos were placed throughout the dining room and images of Australia along with rows of boomerangs hung behind the bar.
Hudson also used the luncheon as an opportunity to promote Emirates service to Australia. "They have three flights a week from Toronto to Dubai and then 80 flights to Australia," he said. "It's very cost competitive, especially if you're traveling to western Australia." The airline, an event sponsor, invited attendees to enter a writing contest for a chance to win a business-class ticket to Australia.
