00:00Well, Lactose Intolerant viewers, avert your eyes because I'm here at Cheesefest kicking
00:06off this weekend in Adelaide.
00:08It's now in its 19th year and it brings together a range of producers when it comes to food,
00:14wine, and of course cheese from around Australia.
00:17I'm joined now by the founder and director, Chris Lloyd.
00:20Chris, this is going to be a record-breaking year, I hear.
00:23It absolutely is.
00:24So for the first time ever, we have a record number of cheese stalls, which is absolutely
00:31fabulous.
00:32That's what people come to Cheesefest for.
00:33So you could start at the Toasty Bar, you could go to the Burrata Bar, and then you
00:37might like to go to the Mozzarella Bar or even the Halloumi Bar.
00:41So I imagine it's just cheese heaven for those that love cheese.
00:45But we've also got a fantastic array of local producers, whether that's food or drink, our
00:53cooking demonstration stage is back again this year.
00:57We're very, very lucky to have Matt Preston, our master of fromage, back this year.
01:02And we also have masterclasses, so there's plenty for everybody to do, lots for the kids
01:07to do as well.
01:08We're very, very family-friendly.
01:10We create an amazing vibe here.
01:13It's a gorgeous community event, you can throw a picnic rug if you like, go and sample the
01:18different cheeses.
01:20One of the things I love about Cheesefest is that you can actually meet the producer.
01:24Because generally you'll get the producer to come along themselves and they explain
01:29how they make their product, whether it's cheese or whether it's the beverages or food,
01:34and where they actually source their raw material from.
01:37And that whole buying local thing, which I'm a real advocate for, is something that we
01:42really believe in here at Cheesefest.
01:45And you're the founder and director of this festival.
01:47It started back in 2006.
01:49What was the inspiration behind it?
01:51Because I also understand you're a little bit of a cheesemaker yourself.
01:54I am a cheesemaker, but the inspiration for Cheesefest was a festival in Italy where they
01:59really celebrated the cheesemaker like God.
02:03And I just thought, do you know what, I actually want a bit of that.
02:06And so I took, and I travelled quite a bit and I found a number of different cheese festivals
02:11across the world.
02:12And I took little bits from each one that I thought were amazing.
02:16And I pulled together Cheesefest and I thought, you know, people really need to celebrate
02:21what a fantastic food.
02:23And what a diverse food cheese is, because there's a whole cheese galaxy out there.
02:29There's so many different styles of cheese.
02:31And again, coming back to Cheesefest, one of the wonderful things is you can sample
02:36cheeses maybe that you haven't tried before.
02:38So if you're a little bit of a novice cheese lover, it's the perfect place for you to go,
02:43I've never tried blue before, I haven't tried that style before, and have an opportunity
02:49to broaden your palate, which I'm all about.
02:51So broadening the horizons.
02:53Of course.
02:54And speaking of that, how has the festival evolved since its origin in 2006?
02:58Yeah, well, I mean, it's certainly got a lot bigger, that's for sure.
03:02I think we ended up, we had about 12 cheese stalls back then, and we're up to over 90
03:08this year.
03:09But we've also included vegan cheese, and I never ever allowed international cheese
03:14because I was very hounded on basically being number one South Australian, but also only
03:20Australian.
03:21But I've grown up and I'm letting the international cheeses in, which is great because there's
03:25some beautiful styles.
03:27And for the first time this year, we've actually got an international cheesemaker from New
03:33Zealand, which is wonderful to be able to include somebody from New Zealand on board.
03:39And what are some of the other highlights that people can expect this weekend?
03:42Well, I think we have our live music stage.
03:47I love it because it supports South Australian musicians, and it's live.
03:53So you get people up dancing.
03:56As I mentioned earlier, the masterclasses are great.
03:59We look at a whole different range of cheeses and wines, and our cooking demos are so entertaining.
04:06A little bit of fun, but it's just fun.
04:09And I think for me to be able to create something that people can come and enjoy and really
04:15celebrate food.
04:17We all love food.
04:19We all love to sit at a table, maybe with wine or just a drink of sorts, and enjoy food
04:26together.
04:27It's such a wonderful thing to share, and I feel like that's something that Cheesefest
04:31really does well.
04:32It brings the community together with a great vibe and an opportunity to share.
04:38And it is South Australia's most snackable weekend of the year.
04:43Sounds delicious.
04:44Thank you, Chris, for your time.
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