September 7, 2022
A celebrity chef who first rose to popularity on the TV show Ready Steady Cook will be a new face at this year’s Blackbutt Avocado Festival.
On Saturday, food ambassador Dominique Rizzo will be demonstrating how to prepare a range of gourmet dishes using the humble avocado.
Dominique will be showing how to make chilled avocado soup, King Fish crudo, garlic chips, charred corn, finger lime and chocolate avocado cheesecake, Italian scorched meringue and a raspberry balsamic strawberry salad.
“Our focus has always been on how we can show avocados in a new light,” Festival president president Jeff Connor said.
“Australians haven’t always had a shining for avocados, but we are determined to see them get more attention and a place on more Australian tables.
“It’s very important that we celebrate avocados, because they’re an important and large local industry in Blackbutt.
“Last year we produced 2296 tonnes of avocados from eight farms.”
Jeff said the Festival was keen to show that avocados can be used for more than just smashed avo on toast, and inviting Dominique to the event was one way to do it.
“Avocados are more versatile than just being the centre of guacamole – they’re a healthy choice for any Queensland kitchen,” Jeff said.
Dominique’s cooking demonstrations will be held inside Blackbutt’s Memorial Hall at 9:30am, 11:30am and 2:30pm on Saturday (September 10).
“Anyone who pre-registers for their ticket will go into the draw to win 1 of 12 places at a private lunch with Dominique at the historic Blackbutt country pub, Hotel Radnor.
“The winners will be drawn on Thursday, September 8 so we urge people to register quickly”
This year’s festival will also be offering helicopter rides, a parachute jump on to a big avocado, AvoGames that include the $1000 AvoRoll, free art workshops for kids, 100-plus market stalls and live music.
There’ll also be a giant street parade wending its way from Coulson Street to the Festival grounds in Bowman Road at 1:00pm, and a $15 per head Harvest Moon Concert at the Showgrounds on Saturday night.
