Canberra Region truffle growers, chefs, restaurants and foodies are set for a big year of truffles with the 2013 Canberra & Capital Region Truffle Festival, which takes place from 21 June 2013 (until the truffles run out!).

'This magical, wintry time of year brings with it the Canberra region’s highly prized quality French Black Truffles and marks the start of truffle season in one of Australia’s key truffle growing areas,' Festival Director and self-confessed truffle groupie, Fred Harden says.

The festival will include activities such as the popular truffle hunts, master classes and cooking demonstrations led by esteemed chefs, truffle inspired menus and tasting sessions at some of the region’s best venues and educational truffle growing experiences.

I had the pleasure of participating in a truffle hunt and truffle lunch and would do it again in a heartbeat!

For more information  the Truffle Festival web site for a full list of events and participating venues. There is also plenty of information about Truffles, for those truffle aficionados.

Celebrating everything good about summer in the Canberra region, the Summerside Festival from 1-28 February is packed with dining events celebrating local and seasonal produce, opportunities to taste the region's fantastic wines as well as a range of events and exhibitions. 

Enjoy summer in the Capital with a lazy long lunch, twilight cinema, an afternoon of live music, master class or champagne and wine tasting or make a weekend of it at one of our B&Bs. Delicious! For more information, visit the web site.

Mark your diary for the National Multicultural Festival 2013 which takes place in Canberra from 8-10 February. This year's event during the Centenary of Canberra promises a delicious kaleidoscope of colours, sounds, sights, flavours and fun. For more information, watch this space, or visit the Festival's web site. Don't miss it!

Lunchtimes are looking deliciously good again, with the enticement of warm, sunny days and Canberra's annual Floriade festival held in Commonwealth Park in Canberra, just a short walk away from my office.

Style and Design is the theme for this year's Floriade, which marks the 25th anniversary of the event. 'With a packed entertainment program, and of course more than one million beautiful blooms, Floriade 2012 is shaping up to be a spectacular event,' says Floriade Marketing and Communications Manager, Adelina La Vita. This year’s event has attracted a raft of celebrities and high profile experts such as Jamie Durie, Don Burke, Better Homes and Gardens’ Jason Hodges and Tara Dennis, The Block 2011 winners, Polly and Waz, Ready, Steady Cook’s Janelle Bloom, MasterChef 2010 finalist Courtney Roulston, and fashion designers Wayne Cooper and Jayson Brunsdon.

One of my favourite attractions is the award winning LINDEMAN’S Open Garden Cellar Door, which offers visitors a culinary and gardening oasis. Join the cooking demonstrations with LINDEMAN’S ambassadors, celebrity chef Dominique Rizzo and gardening guru Meredith Kirton, and visit the 18-metre cellar door where you can taste the wide range of LINDEMAN’S Early Harvest and Sweet Seasons wines.

There’s also plenty of entertainment for children, including circus performances, storytelling, enthralling exhibitions and hand-on activities that will keep them entertained for hours.

Floriade takes place in Canberra from 15 September to 14 October and Nightfest from 26 to 30 September. For information about Nightfest and Floriade, and a full program of events see the respective web sites. 

The village of Murrumbateman is home to a bunch of inspired people who make boutique and award-winning wines, food, artwork, chocolates and other things. This team is known as the Makers of Murrumbateman.

The Makers of Murrumbateman will showcase the best of what they have to offer during the Murrumbateman Moving Feast which will take place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 September. There's wine, food and views – an exploration of the region and senses by roving degustation. For more information and a program of events, visit the web site.

If you've been planning a weekend food and wine getaway, celebrate winter in the nation's capital with the Fireside Festival which runs from 1-31 August. This year, the calendar is packed to the brim with winter-warming events that showcase local and seasonal produce and the best of the region's wines, as well as innovative and exciting performances and exhibitions highlighting local talent.

Venues around the Canberra region are turning up the heat so that visitors can sip on exquisite cool climate wines, taste the delicacies from the region, meet local artists with a passion for their craft, or just relax and warm up in front of open fires in the company of good friends.
The Fireside Festival runs throughout August and is presented by The Poacher's Way. Book early so you don't miss out!  See the website for more information about these hearthwarming events.

On a Saturday evening in January 2012, a group of like-minded Australian food enthusiasts who had 'met' on Twitter gathered at The Red Lantern in Surry Hills in Sydney. The event was organised by food guru, Karen aka @VanityFare1, and attendees included myself and Peter, well-known nutritionist, Catherine Saxelby, Ester @DairyGoodness, Mel @Miss Piggy Eats and her husband Dave ('The Boy'), and author, Joy Hopwood. Pierre Issa (@pepesaya) and Merna Taouk (Homemade Fine Foods) joined in later for dessert.