History of FOOD
The Orange FOOD Week (Food of Orange District) festival is Australia’s longest running regional food festival and has been acclaimed as one of Australia’s top ten food festivals . It’s one of the Orange region’s most loved events, appealing to both residents and visitors alike, and celebrates a significant milestone in 2024 marking the event’s 33rd anniversary year.
Starting from humble beginnings in 1991, the FOOD Week Association was established by a group of passionate and committed local foodies as a voluntary organisation aimed at celebrating the local producers and produce of the region. The objective of the FOOD Week Association since inception has always been to promote the diverse and excellent regional produce from the district across three local government areas – Orange, Blayney and Cabonne. Its prime function is to coordinate and run FOOD Week – a gourmet festival showcasing the region’s food and wine, food producers, wineries, restaurants, chefs, caterers and cooks.
As part of Orange FOOD Week, the Association stages a number of major events which are designed to attract visitors to the region and promote the use of local produce. Orange FOOD Week, held annually in April, and has been recognised by Destination NSW as one of the flagship events of the state and has evolved to become a gourmet festival of national standing.
Humble Beginnings
The very first edition of Orange FOOD Week in 1991 was held over a weekend, and comprised of only two signature events – a Friday evening dinner for 120 guests starring a guest celebrity chef from Sydney, and a Saturday local producers market known as FOOD Affair. At the time, there were only a few vineyards in Orange – Bloodwood and Canobolas Smith Wines – and the fine dining restaurant scene was literally non-existent.
Philip Searle was the inaugural celebrity guest chef of Orange FOOD Week, arriving from the world of fine dining at the award-winning Oasis Seros in Sydney (Gourmet Traveller’s Restaurant of the Year in 1989).
Culinary scene luminaries such as Tony Bilson, Peter Doyle, Luke Mangan and Steven Manfredi also made an appearance during the early years of Orange FOOD Week at the apparently ‘legendary’ Friday dinner events. These were held in increasingly fanciful locations, starting in the local Orange Civic Theatre function room and graduating to more fanciful locations such as a marquee on the rooftop of a carpark and a hangar at the regional airport.
The other main event during the fledgling years of the festival was the FOOD Affair local producers market. This was held in the grassy area behind Orange library, and combined stallholders with cooking demonstrations from talented locals such as Kate Bracks (who went on to win the third series of Masterchef Australia). Other local cooks, chefs and caterers (such as a young Simonn Hawke, now Owner and Chef of local hatted restaurant, Lolli Redini) may have also gained the inspiration to make their first foray into fine dining through these grassroots events.
By the early 2000s, Orange FOOD Week had expanded across seven days to comprise around 40 events – reflecting the phenomenal growth experienced in the local food and wine industry. Today it has expanded to reflect the phenomenal growth across the region’s blossoming food, wine, art and tourism industries.
The Orange region now boasts 38 vineyards, 42 cafes and several fine-dining establishments. In the 21st century, Orange FOOD Week is a ten day event with six signature festival events, complemented by over 90 satellite events hosted at local restaurants, cafes, cellar doors and more.
The importance of Provenance
Provenance – what is it and why is it important? Provenance. It refers to the source or origin of something. If we look at the derivation of ‘provenance’, it comes from the French word ‘provenir’ meaning ‘to come from’. So what’s the big deal and why do we care?
And why is provenance so important when it comes to produce? You can probably imagine why knowing the origin of your food has ethical benefits and marks of quality, but provenance can actually tell us a whole lot more.
The origin of harvestable produce is an expression of terroir. Terroir (pronounced ‘ter-wahr’) is the complete natural environment, including the soil, topography, and climate, which give the produce its unique characteristics. Where a crop is grown and its respective farming methods will determine how the produce will taste.
The provenance of the food we eat has become increasingly important over the past decade. People are demanding more transparency around what they eat – they want real food, with real flavour. Wine producers were the first to heed the call and many other sectors like coffee and chocolate producers followed.
The objective of FOOD Week is to promote the diverse and excellent regional produce from the district across three local government areas – Orange, Blayney and Cabonne through our 10-day food festival that showcases the region’s food and wine, food producers, wineries, restaurants, chefs, caterers and cooks.
All the events held during the festival MUST incorporate local produce in their menus, bringing the story of the provenance of our region’s food and wine to life. And to celebrate the abundance of local produce grown in our region, every FOOD Week we create a signature recipe so you can create a little slice of the Orange region in your own home.
It is our commitment to provenance why FOOD Week is Australia’s longest running regional food festival and has been acclaimed as one of Australia’s top ten food festivals.
“The future of a culinary tourism destination is only sustainable if we develop an approach to food and drink provenance that ensures an authenticity of the ingredients and their source. Without this, culinary tourism is merely hospitality”. Rose Wright, Managing Director of Knowledge Transfer Services, Destination Food
As part of Orange FOOD Week, the Association stages a number of major events which are designed to attract visitors to the region and promote the use of local produce. Orange FOOD Week, held annually in April, is now recognised by Destination NSW as one of the flagship events of the state and has evolved to become a gourmet festival of national standing.