Taste of Australia fest at Radisson Blu Dhaka

The event started by welcoming chief guest H E Julia Niblett, Australian high commissioner, and special guest Satit Dumrerng, general manager of Thai Airways International. H E Dr Thomas Prinz, the German ambassador, was also present. The guests commended the interactive live stations, the quality of Australian produce and the high standards of culinary techniques. The festival's airline partner is Thai Airways, and hospitality partners are Radisson Blu Hotel Sydney and Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View. Supported by Australian High Commission and Austrade, the platinum sponsor and beverage partner is Pepsi Co. J.B Trading Co. is the gold sponsor and Northend Coffee, Expolink Resources Ltd, Noor Trade house, Foodex International and Fair Distribution Ltd are silver sponsors. Radio Today, Dhaka Tribune and Harriken are media partners for this festival, which will end on March 26. Chef Archdeacon weighs in on the food fest.What can foodies expect from the festival?We are bringing in whole lambs and goats and we are going to do Bar-B-Q spit in our restaurant. One of the trees that grows in Bangladesh is also famous in Australia is the eucalyptus, which will be a part of this festival. For smoking and spit-roasting, we will add a hint of flavour from the fresh eucalyptus that we harvest here in Bangladesh. All our meats (Australian lambs, goats or beef) will be half smoked. We will focus on smoked lamb and very high quality beef.What are the highlights of this festival?We will be showcasing Australian cheeses, where there will be one cheese-tasting table in the middle of the restaurant. Australia is very famous for its dairy products, and there will be lots of herbs and chutneys as well. But for me, spit-roasting will be the highlight because it's a lot of fun. Australian lambs will be used and it’s a different breed. The lambs and goats are very Juicy and you can actually smell it while coming in from the lobby. From March 24, we will move towards the pool side from the restaurant, where we will do the Australian barbecue.What's so special about the spit roast?The lambs come from Australia, specifically Victoria. The secret ingredient that will be used here is vegemite. Vegemite is a thick, very dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers’ yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. We marinate the lamb for around one day. The process is very long and slow, and the meat is very juicy.