Tasting Australia by Train – Melbourne to Adelaide

Let’s take the train!

This is no routine journey. Instead it promises a new style of culinary adventure led by three of the world’s most accomplished chefs. Karena Armstrong, Cheong Liew OAM, Jae Bang and Stacey-Lee Edwards will be aboard as The Ghan’s dining and bar carriages are coupled to The Overland and make their debut passage from Melbourne to Adelaide. Tasting Australia is now on rail.

Settle in for a 10-hour day trip replete with curated experiences. Remarkable food and beverages are assured, but this mode of travel also offers its own kind of romance – conviviality and the meditation of passing landscapes.  

Armstrong has led McLaren Vale favourite The Salopian Inn for the past decade and became Tasting Australia festival director in 2021. She takes inspiration from regional producers and their craft, working with seasonal fare to shape uniquely South Australian dishes. 

Liew specialised in fusion cuisine well before it hit the mainstream. A true culinary pioneer, he is best known for a legendary stint at The Grange at the Hilton Adelaide, and for serving as mentor to a new generation of talent.   

Korean-born Bang leads the kitchen at Freyja in Melbourne. Its Nordic approach to Australian dining melds time-honoured technique with new culinary possibilities, shaping dishes touted as future classics. For Bang, whose international background includes time in the United States, Norway, Spain and Japan, dining should always be a powerful multi-sensory experience.  

While aboard guests will join a tasting led by the Geelong-based Edwards, who earned acclaim as a leading sommelier and wine buyer before pursuing a new path as a train controller. Who better to share standout selections from Great Western, the Limestone Coast and Adelaide Hills?    

Only Tasting Australia can offer this dream collaboration – a new frontier for the festival, and one celebrating travel at its most transformative.  

Book at Hotel Indigo Adelaide Markets for a special rate and easy access to the Tasting Australia Town Square in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga.  

INCLUSIONS –

• Food: breakfast, multiple course lunch, afternoon aperitivo snacks
• Beverages: glass of Bollinger on arrival, tea and coffee on arrival, plus all-inclusive premium beverages for the journey and paired wine with lunch
• Additional items: wine masterclass

 

---

Our menus utilise regional produce at the height of its season and take months of careful planning. Many of the dishes featured will not be adaptable for particular dietary requirements. This event can cater to vegetarian, vegan and coeliac dietary requirements, although the menu may not be designed or executed by the visiting chefs. For any other requirements please contact the event organiser prior to purchasing.

View Conditions of Sale & Entry and Ticket Refund Policy.