Dining Galleries – Spice Soiree

Now boarding: the best kind of culinary odyssey. India is our inspiration, and only a feast will do. Join Helly Raichura, Karena Armstrong, Adam D’Sylva and Emma McCaskill for this generous homage.  

Explore authentic specialties across one unforgettable evening. Savour an array of dishes including tandoor lamb cutlet and chana dal idli, with Bhusawal layer cake and gulab jamun – traditional Indian syrup-soaked doughnuts – for dessert. Tasting Australia drinks curator Meira Harel, one of the nation’s leading beverage authorities, will be sommelier for the evening.  

Raichura is best known for Enter Via Laundry, a 20-seat Carlton restaurant celebrated for melding Indian fare with native Australian ingredients. Her set menus are each devoted to a region, with guests at the fine diner and its newly opened spin-off bar embracing their intimate nature and attention to detail.    

Armstrong, meanwhile, has led McLaren Vale’s acclaimed Salopian Inn for the past decade and became a Tasting Australia festival director in 2021. She continues to champion regional producers and their craft, also serving as a mentor to emerging culinary talent.  

D'Sylva has long been linked to exceptional Indian fare. For 14 years he led Melbourne’s Tonka, specialising in modern takes on the nation’s staples. The chef, whose parents have Indian and Italian heritage, is widely recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative.  

An Anglo-Indian grandmother inspired McCaskill from an early age, with this introduction to flavour and spice proving pivotal. The South Australian trained in top Sydney eateries and then seized international opportunties, among them time alongside the legendary Sat Bains in his Michelin two-star Nottingham restaurant.  

Be transported as our Dining Gallery honours East Asia, and the chefs who share its beguiling diversity.