Plate Up Ballarat will showcase the city as the ‘culinary capital of the west’ as restaurants, wineries and breweries provide unique produce experiences. 

Event director Kate Davis said Plate Up Ballarat was about celebrating local producers. 

“Whilst we are offering something for our locals to enjoy, own and be really proud of, it is also about bringing people to our city so they can enjoy it during the month, but also come back every other day and enjoy the quality product we are serving,” Ms Davis said. 

Restaurants, cafes, wineries and breweries involved must use three local ingredients as part of their individual events. Around 32 events are currently in the planning stages, hosted by venues who are striving to push the boundaries and serve up a unique experience that cannot be offered any other day. 

Venues are invited to enter a pie competition using local ingredients and will offer the pie on their menu during May. Apprentice chefs from Federation University TAFE will be offered the opportunity to enter the pie competition and work with chefs in creating their pies. 

Anthony Penhall and Belinda Brooksby, owners of Learmonth’s newly opened Cafe Sidra, said they were looking forward to participating in Plate Up Ballarat. 

“We’re very excited about the pie. We are going to do a local pork and our own cider which we are the cellar door for. We’ll be making the pastry with cider and the filling with pork and apples from a farm not far from here,” Ms Brooksby said. 

Cafe Sidra will also host a pork and cider festival as part of Plate Up Ballarat events.  

Mr Penhall said it was important businesses supported local producers. 

“It’s the way to be able to be a success – you have to support each other. If you keep relying on the big food chains then the little guys just can’t compete,” Mr Penhall said. 

“Ballarat has got so many good places now, so it really is time to let metro areas know that Ballarat is up and about.”

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