Ancient Southern Lands. A collaborative cultural dining experience for Orange F.O.O.D Week
Antica Australis, Carcoar. Saturday 4 April. 1-5pm
Antica Australis and Indigenous Cultural Adventures will present an elegant five-course First Nation Australian and wild-style southern Italian inspired dining experience matched with local wines in the historic village of Carcoar as part of the Orange F.O.O.D Week festival program on Saturday 4 April from 1pm-5pm.
The Ancient Southern Lands event will be further augmented by a cultural dance performance from local Wiradjuri cultural immersion group, Milan Dhiiyaan, along the banks of the beautiful Belubula River which flows through the heart of historic Carcoar village.
Ancient Southern Lands will be a progressive event starting with appetisers at Antica Australis, followed by additional courses served at the heritage-listed Carcoar School of Arts (1901) and with an Italian-style mid-event stroll along the Belubula River in the heart of Wiradjuri country.
“We wish to take the public on a journey about the First Nations People of Australia, it’s about sharing our culture and heritage through experience of our country and the food that we have consumed and survived on for over 50,000 years,” says Gerald Power, Founder of Indigenous Cultural Adventures.
Antica Australis is a locanda (a casual dining, local inn) based in the former local general store (1927) of the charming and historic village of Carcoar, just a 40 minute drive from Orange.
Paolo Picarazzi of Antica Australis adds: “We’re excited to be collaborating with our friends from Indigenous Cultural Adventures and Milan Dhiiyaan to share the heritage of two ancient southern lands. Antica Australis means ‘the ancient south’ and we think this event resonates perfectly with Australia and my home region of Ciociaria, which was the heartland of the original Italy over 3,000 years ago.
“Both of our ancient cultures have retained their heritage in their traditions of food, music and stories and we will be sharing this with our Ancient Southern Lands guests in a unique dining experience during Orange F.O.O.D Week, a much-loved festival which celebrates the heritage and provenance of local produce.”
The dining experience will be matched with a three-flight wine tasting experience hosted by local winemaker Antonio D’Onise of Antonio’s Wines.
“My purpose as a winemaker is to be creative from the land, and I take my influence in crafting my wines from my Southern Italian pedigree coming from a proud lineage of winemakers. Wine is a natural product and needs to be inspired by the characters the fruit presents. The joy for me is seeing those around me enjoying my wine.”
Tickets for the Ancient Southern Lands event are $110 per person including wine-tasting and can be purchased online through the Antica Australis website (www.anticacarcoar.com). Additional wine will be available for purchase at the event. A return bus transfer from Orange is available for an extra $20 per person.
ANCIENT SOUTHERN LANDS MENU
01
Emu on wombok with bush spiced pesto
Matched with a welcome aperitivo of Lemon Myrtle Gin Cocktail
02
Rabbit in paperbark with saffron + yoghurt
Matched with Preservative Free Chardonnay by local winemaker Antonio D’Onise
03
Wallaby shanks in bush tomato and native pepperberry on saffron risotto with Johnny Cakes
Matched with Preservative Free Shiraz by local winemaker Antonio D’Onise
04
Warrigal greens with warm Saltbush-infused local Kalavista organic olive oil
05
Roasted wattleseed + macadamia waffles with Lili Pilli cream and poached quandongs
Matched with Antonio’s Rosé by local winemaker Antonio D’Onise
Carcoar is in the heart of Wiradjuri country and we pay our respects to the Elders – past, present and emerging – for holding the memories and hopes of this place.
Bringing a little of the soul of regional Italy to the heart of regional Australia, Antica Australis is a Ciociarian slow food locanda and providore in the charming historic village of Carcoar, NSW. Paolo Picarazzi cooks in the casarecce (housemade) style of the Ciociarian region in Central Italy with a focus on seasonal, slow cooking using fresh local produce. Produce is sourced direct from local producers, orchards and farms in the Orange, Canowindra and Cowra districts within a 100-mile radius with a focus on being sustainable, ethical and organic.
Antica Australis opens February 2020.
ABOUT INDIGENOUS CULTURAL ADVENTURES
Local Aboriginal-owned cultural tour operator and bush tucker caterer, founded by Gerald Power with the aim of sharing the rich history and traditions of the Wiradjuri nation based in the Orange region. “We wish to take the public on a journey about the First Nations People of Australia, it’s about sharing our culture and heritage through experience of our country and the food that we have consumer and survived on for over 50,000 years.”
Milan Dhiiyaan means “One Family or One Mob”- referring to all of us, all of humanity, as one family on mother earth. Milan Dhiiyaan provides Aboriginal cultural immersion experiences for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people of our Australian and global community and is led by Wiradjuri/Wailwaan songwoman and senior cultural educator Nyimirr (Fleur Magick Dennis) and Wailwaan/Yuin songman and senior cultural educator Millmullian (Laurance Magick Dennis).
Wine practices handed down over centuries of family tradition, the D’Onise family are proud southern Italians who value natural wine making processes that capture the essence of the land in each glass. Viticulturist Antonio D’Onise produces vn’autentico in the Southern Italian style – “I see my purpose is to be creative from the land, to craft wine through inspiration of those around me and by those that enjoy them.”
One of Australia’s most perfectly preserved 19th Century villages and listed by the National Trust, Carcoar was established in 1839 and was the third European settlement over the Blue Mountains to be gazetted. Prior to this, Carcoar was part of the heartland of the Wiradjuri nation.