TV garden show host Vasili will be a special guest at the Herb and Chilli Festival.
THINGS are heating up in the Yarra Valley this autumn.
The Yarra Valley Herb and Chilli Festival, part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, celebrates the flavours and benefits of herbs and chillies and their uses in Australian food and wine.
The two-day event on 17 and 18 March will feature exhibitors selling and sampling a broad range of chilli products and food plants including chilli sauces, dips, herbs, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
Television gardening guru Vasili Kanidiadis will be a special guest along with Jane Edmanson and Mark Briggs. Held at the Romantic Nursery in Wandin, exhibitors at the festival will include smoothie making, fresh calamari with several sauces and dips, and The Chilli Factory’s chilli sauces and chutneys from mild to the world’s hottest.
There are also scheduled talks and presentations from experts in growing, producing and using herbs for culinary, medicinal and other household purposes, and cooking demonstrations on how to use fresh herbs and chillies in day-to-day dishes.
There are plenty of kids activities, and – if festival goers don’t fill up on free samples – there will be a range of food and drink options like chilli beers, Mexican beers, local wines, fresh fruit and produce, tacos and Mexican food, fresh made game and herb sausages, and a coffee cart with standard and herb/chilli coffees.
Every attendee will receive a free Herb and Chilli Festival Showbag on arrival, which will include a magazine, plant, fertiliser sample and much more, valued at $20.
Visit www.herbchillifestival.com.au for more information.
