Fleurieu Fiesta!

A regional celebration

Fiesta! Welcome to spring in the Fleurieu Peninsula.  Fiesta! is our chance to show you the very best regional food, wine and hospitality of the region.  Fleurieu Peninsula Food presents a program of Culinary Events in conjunction with McLaren Vale Grape, Wine & Tourism, Langhorne Creek Winemakers, Southern Fleurieu Vignerons, Willunga Farmers Market and the food, wine and tourism businesses of the region.

The generosity of our supporters make it possible - The City of Onkaparinga, South Australian Tourism Commission, Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism, Alexandrina Council, Food South Australia, Fleurieu Regional Development.

2007 Fiesta! Ambassador Cheong Liew invites you to the region:

The 2007 Fiesta! program is the best way to have a genuine experience of this region’s food and wine.  You can learn all about the Fleurieu produce in a fun way by joining in the workshops, dinners, competitions and tastings.  Come and meet the growers, producers, winemakers and chefs in their region.

Fiesta! brings together the whole community around the table to share their food, wine and stories with you.  This is a really important food and wine event for South Australia and I encourage you to book in and be part of growing Fleurieu Peninsula’s food and wine culture.

Fiesta! began in 2004 following on from a long tradition in the region of seasonal celebrations.

Spring is is a wonderful time to visit the Fleurieu and the October Fiesta! makes this a must for culinary travellers.  All around the region you’ll find olive oil showcasing, tastings and the opportunity to purchase the new season’s products.  The New Season's Olive Oil goes on sale and remember, unlike wine, olive oil doesn’t improve with age, so fresh is best!

The Olive is the symbol of Fiesta! as Fleurieu Peninsula is a place where Greek and Italian settlers brought their trees and traditions beginning the regional love affair with Olive Oil.

Olive History

Ancient Fruit for Modern Tastes

The sacred olive.

Occupying a special place in the western psyche, the history of this ancient plant and its produce is tightly entwined with our own. From the dimmest mists of our collective memory the olive has symbolised peace, prosperity, goodwill and wisdom.

According to Ancient Greek legend, the first olive tree was planted atop the Acropolis by the goddess Athena, becoming central to the Athenian culture. Its oil was used in cooking, beauty care, religious rites, medicine and lamps. In the first Olympics, athletes even competed for generous prizes of olive oil!

Today, the virtues of olive oil are lauded for helping to prevent heart disease – even the leaves are claimed by some to have healing properties. Throughout time the fruit has played a central role in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern diets, now enthusiastically adopted here in Australia. The olive is in our language: we speak of extending an olive branch as an invitation to reconciliation.

2007 Fleurieu Peninsula Olive Awards

Olive Awards Entry Form:: PDF Print Out

The Fleurieu Peninsula Food Olive Awards are the first step in developing regional distinction for varieties predominantly grown on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

These awards are the first food industry olive awards run by a regional food group and designed to determine regional and varietal character.

The Fleurieu Peninsula is one of the most significant and successful olive growing regions in Australia. These inaugural olive awards, grounds our food group in a food culture that is thousands of years old and seeks to celebrate the cultural heritage that underpins the history of the industry in the region.

Many of the groves in the region are not large. However cultural heritage, the Mediterranean climate, recent investment in modern plant and equipment and a great deal of passion has seen superior varieties yield consistent quantities of much sought after high quality oil. Much of the oil produced on the Fleurieu Peninsula is shipped out of the region to be blended with oil from other regions to make up the necessary quality and quantities needed for national and international supply chains. Whilst this is an important aspect of Australian olive industry development, there are opportunities to differentiate our oils on the basis of region and variety and opportunities to celebrate the difference.

Oversupply and competition has seen the wholesale price of oil plummet in the last few years. Through this competition and by examining and developing the characteristics that make our oils so sought after, we anticipate that the consistent and exceptional quality of Fleurieu Peninsula EVOO will be recognised and rewarded in the market place.

We also anticipate that a regional flavour profile will emerge for particular varieties and that Fleurieu Peninsula varietal oils will be sought after by discerning chefs and consumers for their regionally distinctive full flavour and inevitable culinary appeal.

The Fleurieu Peninsula is an olive grower’s paradise. Visitors here soon come to realise that olive oil has become a local passion and the focus of an evolving regional cuisine.

Although still in its first flush of youth, this dynamic local industry is already making its mark on the international olive oil scene. Names like Coriole, Fleurieu Feral Oil, Diana Olives, Talinga Grove, Hardings, Seaview Estate, Brian’s Olives, The Olive Grove, Willunga Hills Organic, Lucilla and the McLaren Vale Food Company are taking the lead and receiving recognition for their distinctive, quality products.

As part of a continuous striving for excellence, the Fleurieu Peninsula Olive Oil Association was recently formed to represent local growers and oil producers. Its function is primarily to assist with industry development and in helping to put Fleurieu Peninsula olive oil on the map. Big things are on the way…

If you would like to enter the Olive Award, please fill in the form or contact Fleurieu Peninsula Food 8323 0144 for a form to be sent out.

A highlight will be the Fiesta! Awards Night Feast.... perfectly blended food, wine and music celebrate the announcement of the year’s olive oil competition winners. This is the Party!

Culinary Competition

Chefs throughout the Fleurieu compete for the title of: Fleurieu Peninsula Food Chef of the Region with all the accolades and publicity that this entails.

All chefs working on the Peninsula are eligible to enter. If you would like to compete in the Culinary Competition please contact Fleurieu Peninsula Food.