In Australia we are spoilt for choice when it comes to wine, so there is a Wine Experience to suit everyone.

Red Balloon has a whole section on Wine Tasting, which covers Tours and Courses of every description in many locations. They even offer a free exchange on all experience vouchers, which makes it a failsafe gift idea.

Best Gift Certificates also offer gift vouchers for Wine Experiences Australia wide. There is even a Penfolds Make Your Own Blend Experience.

Wine Experienceis an independently owned wine merchant located in Rosalie Village in Brisbane.  They offer quality wines from Boutique Wineries and even have a Museum Section for the special wines!! They run regular in store tastings and also have Wine Classes. You can purchase gift certificates that can be used online or in store.

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The group buying websites like Cudo and Living Social have deals for Dining Experiences all the time and many of these are great value. I received a voucher as a gift from my sister, for a Degustation Dinner for 2 at Tukka restaurant which was a fabulous night out. I think she even threw in the babysitting to really top it of.

Red Balloon also have a section called Eating Out, where you can purchase a gift voucher for experiences such as Horse Riding and Picnic for 2, or an 8 Course Degustation Dinner for 2.

If you want the recipient of the gift to be able to choose where they dine, Best Restaurants of Australia allow you to buy a gift card for the value of you choice and this can be redeemed at one of the participating restaurants. The list of restaurants to choose from is amazing and there is definitely something for everyone from top of the line like Movida, to casual dining Australia wide.

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Cooking schools have popped up everywhere and unless you know a particular school and can book direct, it may be useful to use the sites below.

Red Balloon offer vouchers for all types of experiences, including cooking classes. They have listing for locations throughout Australia offering all types of cuisines.

Cook and Stay list cooking classes and Cook, Eat and Stay residential classes, combining cooking classes with a mini Foodie Escape. What a fabulous gift to recieve.

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We love our Australian Food Magazines and iSUBCRiBE Australia has a comprehensive list of food & wine magazine subscriptions. Great for gifts for Birthdays or Christmas. There are always sales and discounts so you can be assured of a bargain when buying a magazine subscription here.

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This is an event that I have attended in 2011. I was the lucky winner in a competition to “Cook with Matt Preston”. As I said to my sister, trust me to win a competition where you have to work!!! But what an experience it was. Obviously I got to meet the man himself and got an event apron signed for me and a Junior MasterChef cookbook for my son, which he loves.

I then helped plate up several hundred serves of the dish created by Matt Preston for the Food Critics Challenge.

Unfortunately he did not win that year, but I had a great time rubbing shoulders with famous foodies…

There are so many events to choose from that you can’t fit them all in. I especially enjoyed the demonstration by Maggie Beer and her daughter Saskia. These demonstrations are very popular, so it is best to plan your day well to fit in as much as possible.

It is an amazing time to be in Noosa, seeing Gary Meighan with his family on the way to dinner and Maggie Beer walking along the foreshore whilst enjoying breakfast at the Surf Club.

As they say in the flyer – A fantastic culinary experience in one of Queensland’s most iconic destinations.

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1^st – 17^th March 2013

A 17 day celebration of food & wine over 3 weekends.

This is definitely an event with something for everyone. From the Masterclass series at the Langham, to The Garden Pizzeria family event where you can create a pizza from the fresh produce and cook it in a woodfired oven.

There are events all around Melbourne and in Regional areas such as Wodonga and Dandenong. So it is a great time to visit these regions.

This is an event that I definitely hope to attend in the future. I will just have to decide if it’s a girly foodie trip or a family adventure !!

Some events are already sold out, so head to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival website to find out more.

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Chefs from 20 of Sydney’s top restaurants will prepare tapas size dishes for you to enjoy and wine, beer and cocktail producers will be on hand to complete the picture.

There will also be a line-up of innovative and interactive programmes on cooking, eating and drinking.

This unique collaboration of Sydney’s finest eateries, chefs and producers makes Taste of Sydney the must attend event on Sydney’s food and social calendar.

 For more information about this event go to The Taste Of Sydney website.

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Makes about 1.5 litres of thick frozen Daiquiri
1 ½ – 2 Frozen Mangos (can be replaced with fruit of your choice)

Ice Cubes

2 shots (60ml) Suntory Mango Liqueur (I have been unable to find any other mango liqueur in any of the Vok, Continental, Baitz or Marie Brizzard ranges)

2 shots (60ml) Bacardi or Light White Rum

2 shots (60ml) Cointreau or Triple Sec (Everglades make a wine based Orange Liquer which is an excellent substitute and about 1/3^rd the price Cointreau – doubt you will notice the difference in this cocktail)

Juice of ½ Fresh Lemon (lemon or lime squeeze is almost OK)

200-300ml Orange Juice 

Chop mangoes into chunks and place in blender.

Add Lemon Juice

Blend / Pulse until smooth

Start adding ice cubes by throwing thru hole in lid – 1 or 2 at time while blender is still running. When the consistency is so thick that the cubes no longer get to the bottom of the blender, turn off blender, add Orange Juice and turn on blender again, keep adding ice cubes as before until they don’t get to bottom, Turn off blender and pulse a couple of times to make sure all ice cubes are crushed fully.

Serve immediately in suitable glasses

Tip

Fillet & skin mangos when available and economical and freeze into sandwich size zip lock bags. It is easier and best to use mangoes straight from the freezer.

Image Courtesy of SBS

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Makes 1 drink

2 shots (60ml) Vodka
1 shot (60ml) lime juice
Angostura bitters (to taste)
Crushed ice
Ginger Beer

In a tall glass add the vodka, lime juice and crushed ice

Top with ginger beer and angostura bitters to taste

Image Courtesy of Taste.com.au

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Makes 1 drink

6 mint leaves
caster sugar (to taste)
½ lime, cut into wedges
60ml rum (white or dark is your preference, we like white)
Crushed ice
100ml soda water
Angostura bitters (to taste)

Muddle the mint sugar and lime wedges

Add the rum, fill the glass with ice and top with soda and a splash of angostura

Garnish with mint to serve

Image Courtesy of Culinnovation.net

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