Dining Galleries – Fiesta

Mexican cuisine is always apt for a celebration. We figured it would be fun to take it up a notch. This dinner features four chefs ready for a fiesta – and it also happens to coincide with Cinco de Mayo. Think authentic dishes aplenty, tequila, pinatas and a mariachi band: exuberance you just can’t miss. Claudette Zepeda, Daniella Guevara Munoz, Duncan Welgemoed and Jessie Spiby are putting on a show. 

The US-based Zepeda is known as both a chef and culinary anthropologist – one whose bold, fearless style continues to win fans. She has a particular passion for regional Mexican cuisine, and for its vital place in cultural celebrations.  

Adelaide is the adopted home of Guevara Munoz, who left work as a marine biologist in Mexico to pursue her love of cooking. She launched Port Adelaide’s La Popular Taqueria in 2017, its authentic flavours soon making a splash.  

Welgemoed also found his way to South Australia from afar. Africola, the bustling city restaurant that honours his South African heritage, shot to the top of diners’ must-do lists soon after opening and remains a favourite. The widely travelled Welgemoed will use international adventure as inspiration for this Tasting Australia event, with his handmade barbacoa oven set to turn out the night’s centrepiece.  

Rounding out the chef lineup is Spiby, head honcho at Good Company Catering and Bowden café My Grandma Ben, who will deliver the evening’s dessert. Vibrant, colourful menus are among her signatures, often enlivened with native ingredients. Now Mexico becomes a muse. 

This is Sunday dining with a twist – a meal dreamed up by talents at the very top of their game, with culinary highlights including South Australian Yumbah abalini complete with signature Africola ferments, tostada with a variety of seafood and salsas, and horchata ice cream. Sommelier for the evening will be wine and spirit distributor Mark Reginato, co-owner of leading Adelaide bar Hellbound and among stars of the local hospitality scene. Join us for the fiesta.