20 things to do this autumn

VISIT: Orange F.O.O.D Week

Orange hosts a week of events during the harvest to showcase the region’s finest produce and cool-climate wines. Produce and wines from Mudgee, Young, Cowra, Canowindra, Orange, Molong and Bathurst will be brought to you by those towns’ best chefs and cooks. 

8-17 April, Orange, NSW,  orangefoodweek.com.au

MAKE: Tipo 00’s gnocchi with duck ragù and porcini mushrooms

As the weather cools down, we’ll all be craving comfort food. The gnocchi with duck ragù by Melbourne’s Tipo 00 is rich, tender and full of traditional Italian flavours.

Find the recipe here.

LEARN: The Kimberley Kitchen

This outdoor cooking class, set on the picturesque banks of Lake Kununurra, is hosted this year by George Calombaris. The chef will incorporate a range of exceptional local Kimberley produce in dishes that guests will have the opportunity to try. 

Tickets $69.60, 18 May, from 4pm, Celebrity Tree Park, WA, ordvalleymuster.com.au

DISCOVER: Autumn Wild Edibles Forage & Lunch

Let a foraging enthusiast lead you into the world of autumn forest fare. You’ll be taught how to identify the most common and delicious edible weeds and mushrooms, and finish by sharing a delicious lunch with your findings. 

Tickets $77, 24 April, Wandiligong, Vic,  openfoodnetwork.org.au/wandiful-produce/shop

MAKE: Chocolate honeycomb

Whether dipped in more chocolate or crumbled over ice-cream, this chocolate honeycomb makes the perfect dessert. Make a big batch and store it in an airtight container in the freezer to enjoy it all autumn long.

Find the recipe here.

CELEBRATE: Festival of the Falling Leaf

Set in the picturesque Tumut Valley, this festival celebrates the arrival of autumn. This year’s festival involves an impressive line-up of local artists, as well as diverse food stalls, a theatre production, fireworks and a street parade.

Free admission, till 1 May, Tumut, NSW,  fallingleaffestival.com.au

DRINK: Batched cocktails

The batched-cocktail trend is taking off and it’s being adopted by some of Australia’s top bartenders. Matt Bax started serving a bottled Americano when his tiny Bar Americano opened in 2011 in Melbourne’s CBD, and he added a Negroni a couple of years ago. “We serve from the bottle at Bar Americano, not for consistency or speed, but to demonstrate the authenticity of our bottled cocktails. It’s the very same hooch you can take home,” says Bax. 

Bar Americano, 20 Presgrave Pl, Melbourne, Vic, (03) 9939 1997,  baramericano.com

WATCH: Deckchair Cinema

This open-air cinema on the edge of the scenic Darwin Harbour screens a diverse range of Australian, foreign, popular and classic films. Before your movie starts, watch the sunset over the sea and enjoy the tropical garden setting with a meal and a drink from local suppliers. 

Tickets $16, gates open 20 April, 6:30pm, Darwin Harbour, NT, deckchaircinema.com

TASTE: Pidapipó gelato in Windsor

Our love of gelato isn’t exclusive to the warmer months. The new outpost of Carlton’s Pidapipó Gelateria has opened down the Windsor end of Chapel Street, bringing with it new flavours, a range of cakes, and the option of filling your cone with warm Nutella before gelato is scooped on top. New flavours include a silky dairy-free avocado and lime sorbetto, a salted-caramel gelato with white chocolate and peanut butter ganache, and a particularly fetching saffron risotto gelato.

Pidapipó Windsor, 85 Chapel St, Windsor, Vic,  pidapipo.com.au

EAT: Harpoon Harry

Morgan McGlone, the man behind Belle’s Hot Chicken, has taken over the menu at Sydney’s Harpoon Harry, adding a range of Southern American-inspired dishes such as devilled eggs and clams casino. The pub also houses a tempting brown-spirit collection, which includes applejack, campfire whiskey and a moonshine from Melbourne. There’s also a by-the-glass range of wines that reflects McGlone’s passion for small, interesting, artisanal wineries. 

Harpoon Harry, 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills, NSW, (02) 8262 8800,  hotelharry.com.au/bar

TRY: Meat Fruit at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Heston Blumenthal’s Meat Fruit has been described as an example of the unconventional chef’s “food sorcery”. Mimicking a mandarin, it’s a confection of chicken liver parfait encased in mandarin jelly that’s made to look like the dimpled skin of the fruit via a series of freezing and dipping techniques. It looks just like the real thing, complete with a stalk and leaves. Read our review of Dinner here. 

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Crown Towers, level 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank, Vic, (03) 9292 5777,  dinnerbyheston.com.au

LEARN: The Farmhouse Kitchen in Tasmania

Learn how to create authentic Italian cuisine using locally grown produce with teacher Giuliana White. A variety of small-group classes – including meat lovers’ and pasta masterclasses – are held in a bright, homey kitchen. Giuliana goes through coveted family recipes and provides cultural and historical insight. The classes are all followed by lunch. 

Classes from $185 (including lunch), timetable online, Lower Wattle Grove, Tas,  thefarmhousekitchen-tas.com

EAT: Restaurant Hubert, Sydney

Hubert is the first full-service restaurant from Anton Forte and Jason Scott, the Sydney bar czars behind Shady Pines Saloon, The Baxter Inn and Frankie’s Pizza. We can confirm that it’s worth the hype. It’s huge, though, so you’ll need a game plan. Luckily we’ve made one for you, so you know where to sit, what to order and how many people to bring.

PARTY: Mental Notes

It’s not a tasting, it’s not a festival, it’s not a pop-up, it’s not a symposium – in the words of DRNKS founder Joel Amos, it’s a wine party. And that sounds all right to us. Amos has got together with Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham of Sydney’s The Unicorn and Mary’s to take over the Cell Block Theatre and the courtyard at the National Art School in Darlinghurst. The Mary’s boys will be doing kebabs, and the fellas from Icebergs will be doing grilled mortadella sandwiches. 

Mental Notes, 3pm-9pm, Saturday 30 April, National Art School, cnr Forbes and Burton sts, Darlinghurst, NSW,  mentalnotes.co; tickets $55, early-bird price $49.50.

DO: Brewer for a Day

This ultimate beer lover’s experience will have you in a hands-on role brewing one of Bright Brewery’s craft beers. A brewer will guide you step by step through the brewing process, from milling the grain to pitching the yeast. To finish off the day, sit back with the brewery team as they walk you through a tasting board of all the beers on tap at the brewery bar. 

Tickets $360, 6 May, 8:30am-5pm, Bright, Vic,  brightbrewery.com

GIFT: Craft beer bouquet

For $35, including delivery, new Sydney start-up Brewquets will deliver three craft beers wrapped, bouquet fashion, in tissue paper and tied in a hessian bag with a handwritten note. Each week, Brewquets’ founder, Anna Jackson, chooses three of her current favourite Australian craft beers from both established and smaller, local brewers.

brewquets.com.au

DRESS UP: Orchestra in the Blue Mountains

Heading into winter, the Metropolitan Orchestra is taking part in the Majestic Concert Series at the Hydro Majestic Hotel, with two concerts remaining in the series. Conducted by Sarah-Grace Williams, the dynamic ensemble will be preceded by canapés and cocktails and will then play over dinner in the Hydro’s Grand Majestic ballroom. Tickets include canapés on arrival and a two-course dinner including drinks and the concert. 

Saturday June 18, 2016, 5.30-9.30pm, the Grand Majestic Ballroom at the Hydro Majestic, hydromajestic.com.au

BAKE: Cheddar and kale pull-aparts

We love these rolls eaten warm with plenty of salted butter. They’re also excellent served alongside an autumnal soup – creamy potato or cauliflower would make a good match. 

Find the recipe here.

WALK: The Barossa Camino

This seven-kilometre walk, part of Tasting Australia’s 2016 program, will have you navigating the beautiful vineyards of Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace with winemakers and farmers from families who have lived and worked in the area since the 1800s. Taste the wines, then walk to the Bootmakers Cottage for lunch in true Barossa style. 

Tickets $195, 1 May, 8:30am, Town Square, Adelaide, SA,  tastingaustralia.com.au

WATCH: Spanish Film Festival

This year’s festival is set to screen a selection of diverse and award-winning films as part of its line-up, with a program that features comedies, dramas, thrillers and documentaries. Thirty-two films and a session of shorts will show during April and May at Palace Cinemas in seven cities nationally. 

Tickets from $25, 12 April to 25 May, various locations,  spanishfilmfestival.com