After a very successful event in 2005, Vic Cherikoff and I were invited back for a second year to the host an Australian Food and Wine event at both the Hilton Nagoya. The event was opened on the 9th of June with a media launch hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Japan, Mr Murray Mclean and ran through to the 16th of June.

This year the Australian Food and Wine event at the Hilton Nagoya was expanded to include the fine dining Seasons Restaurant as well as the Terrace Brasserie. In the fine dining restaurant, Seasons a set lunch and set dinner menus will be offered and features dishes such as ;

• Wattleseed infused beef fillet with wild rosella jam, kumara mash
• Grilled Barramundi fillet with lemon myrtle mash and quandong confit
• Kangaroo Lasagne with Bush Tomato Chutney and Lemon Myrtle
• Wattleseed pavlova with a wild rosella confit
• Quandong crème brulee with macadamia nut ice cream

The Australian Food & Wine Festival was centred in the Nagoya Hilton’s Terrace Brassiere, where guests experienced an extensive buffet featuring the unique flavours of Australia such as riberries, wattleseed, lemon myrtle, wild limes, paperbark and over several dozen other Australian ingredients flown in especially for the event. During the buffet each evening Vic and I did live cooking shows to entertain and educate guests on Australian ingredients and their use.

Highlights from the buffet menu include;

• Red Desert Dusted Tasmanian salmon with rocket and yakajirri hollandaise
• Seared kangaroo fillet with mountain pepper sauce
• Lamb rump with Illawarra plum sauce
• Wildfire spiced seared tuna tossed in lemon aspen chilli sauce
• Wattleseed tiramisu

The 438-room Hilton Nagoya, located at the centre of the business, shopping and entertainment areas of the city and only 12 kilometres from Nagoya Airport, offers a wide range of leisure and business facilities as well as a ballroom which can host up to 1,200 guests.

I would like to thank the sponsors of the event which included Australian Airlines, Wolf Blass Wines, Fosters Beer, King Island Dairy Cheeses, Berri Fruit Juices, MLA, Cheetham Salt and Shin Nagatomo from Vacel Inc for the kangaroo and crocodile.

I would like to thank the management team at the Hilton Nagoya, especially General Manager Herman Ehrlich, Director of Operations, Lilian Roger, Geoff Stone, Business Development and Executive Chef, Takashi Tanioka who have all worked to make the Australian event a success.

Click here to see photos of the Australian food and wine festival