UPDATE: The scavenger hunt has been postponed. Refunds will be issued for all tickets purchased.
It’s been a year in the making, but Tasha Ugrinic and Mike Mattler’s foray into the food and wine world is taking shape. With a fresh set of eyes, the newly married couple – whose day jobs are in design and business, respectively – are bringing a new kind of food event to Adelaide.
The couple will roll out a “culinary runway” at the Queen’s Theatre from Friday November 17 to Sunday November 26. An evening-only, pop-up restaurant will host long-table dinners curated by some of the state’s best food entrepreneurs. The brief is to not only champion South Australian produce, but our sustainable approach to growing it.
Enoki’s (Pickle in the Middle, Stirling Hotel) design team is in the process of developing an “intricate” runway using sustainable and recycled materials such as hay bales and plaid shirts. Getting them on board was a no-brainer for Ugrinic, who has a long-standing relationship with the firm.
She remains tight-lipped about the line-up of chefs, which is still to be confirmed. But if event patrons Karena Armstrong (The Salopian Inn), David Swain (Fino), Steven ter Horst and Jonny Pisanelli (Abbots and Kinney) are anything to go by, it’ll be big.
“There’ll definitely be some collaborations,” Ugrinic says. “We’ve got a few people that do something very unique – with science, for example – which will add an incredible element to someone else’s work.”
The ticketed events will be food-driven. “Once the chefs are locked in, then we’ll be looking at winemakers,” says Ugrinic.
As a precursor, the Local Mess Hall team will whet your appetite with a scavenger hunt through the city on Saturday October 7.
Start at your allocated “kick-off coffee house” – Abbots & Kinney, Exchange Specialty Coffee, Fairweather and Monday’s Coffee are among the starting points. You’ll be signed in, put into a team (of up to five) and given a set of instructions. Ugrinic has one piece of advice: “Wear comfortable shoes”. Prizes will be up for grabs, courtesy of the makers at Ensemble.
“I don’t want to give too much away but everyone will end up in one spot at the end,” Ugrinic says. And she promises a damn good time.
*The Local Mess Hall will run from Friday November 17 to Sunday November 26 at the Queen’s Theatre. Tickets will go on sale soon.
