Taste Great Southern festival returns to showcase best of the region’s culinary talents over four-day program

The Great Southern’s premier food and wine festival Taste Great Southern returns to the region from Thursday, featuring local culinary talent and businesses, and an extended four-day program. Under new management this year with AHOY, the festival program has now been expanded to 20 events over a four-day program from May 1-4. It will open with a welcome to country and smoking ceremony in Albany Town Square from 4.30pm on May 1. Festival director Erin Molloy said her team was excited to launch the festival in a way that celebrates the Indigenous culture that has shaped the region for thousands of years, and pays respect to the land the festival is held on. This year’s program is packed full of culinary and cultural events, from bush hikes to painting classes, to wine tastings and long lunches, all featuring the very best of the Great Southern’s produce and artisans. The festival’s closing event on May 4, Elite Pie Party, is a collaboration between beloved Albany bakery Bred Co, Perth bakers Big Loaf and local vineyard La Violetta Wines, designed to bring the community together for a night of connection and fun, centred on Great Southern produce. Bred Co owner Rhiannon Moon said the collaboration between herself and Lachlan Bisset and Craig Stewart from Big Loaf had been a long time coming. “We’ve always been counting towards a collaboration at some point, and this year was the perfect opportunity,” she said. “We’re teaming up with Andrew Hoadley from La Violetta Wines as well, so it’s going to be a really exciting night. “The Elite Pie Party is five courses, finishing with a nod to the famous Big Loaf cinnamon buns.” Ms Moon has been involved with the festival for many years, and said it was a great opportunity to bring people to the Great Southern and show them what the region has to offer, particularly with this year’s expanded program to include smaller towns through the Town Takeover program. “I think the town takeovers are a really great idea to engage businesses that maybe wouldn’t have the capacity to do a bigger event,” she said. “There’s so much to see in all the different parts of the Great Southern and I think it’s really amazing that if people are going to be here for four days, they can take a drive out and have a look at other parts of the region that aren’t explored enough.” Full program details are available at tastegreatsouthern.com.au.