They have a knack for doing things differently in Tasmania. As winter darkness descends and most of us retreat to our sofas and Netflix, the outrageously clever people at Dark Mofo – the marketing team built by David Walsh, owner of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) – in partnership with the City of Hobart delivered a winter festival like no other this year. The Winter Feast drew thousands of tourists to discover and enjoy the bountiful flavours of this magnificent island state with its provocative offering of food, drink, performance and art. And I’ll be honest, at times I was not exactly sure which was which.

As part of the Dark Mofo festival, which celebrates ancient pagan rituals, the Winter Feast takes centre stage providing a smorgasbord of dark delights. This year’s headliner, New Zealand’s most innovative chef Vaughan Mabee of three-hatted restaurant Amisfield, was hand-picked by Mona’s executive chef Vince Trim to bring to life a menu of mad genius. Feral Tasmanian deer were trussed – legally – and hung over an altar of open fire to roast then sliced to order alongside the usual Mabee party bag of wild and foraged edibles, this time with a nod to the Aussie flavours of wakame furikake, sea urchin, wattleseed and wallaby. It was worth a second visit to this custom-built rock-star chef pavilion – auspiciously named Heavy Metal Kitchen – just to watch the punters squirming with delight at Vaughan’s signature deer- milk ice-cream dessert, presented as the antler on a deer skull and drizzled with a warm blood caramel. Given that this festival is a superbly created exploration of the links between ancient and modern mythology, dark and light, birth and death, I can understand why the talents of chefs Vince and Vaughan were a glorious match made in fire and heaven. The meticulous curation of over 80 stallholders for the Winter Feast showcased some of the most outstanding local and international menus I’ve seen: chargrilled mutton bird, wattleseed damper and a garlic butter infused with kunzea, an endemic shrub; sensational crispy-fried whole squid on a stick, sprinkled with chilli salt; dark and voluptuous paella showcasing Tassie scallops, squid tentacles, squid ink and peppers; lemony local sardines on toast with crispy Tasmanian pink-eye patatas bravas.

Oozing local cheese-based goodness was lovingly baked and wrapped in salty-sweet prosciutto, and steaming bowls of meaty, brothy rich tonkatsu ramen sat alongside smoky flavour-packed Korean barbecue and what could just be the ultimate three-cheese melt using kimchi as its hook. Distinctively Tasmanian wines, beers and tipples were around every corner including a take on vermouth that had been fortified with more than 30 botanical infusions, boozy mugs of hot chocolate made with Tasmanian whisky and chocolate liqueur, and a mulled barrel-aged, foraged blackberry gin. This was not the usual excuse for a piss-up in the park, this was an offering that had been carefully thought through by the very talented Amanda Vallis and her team offering comfort, warmth and outstanding flavour at an indoor/outdoor event where the weather is infamously unpredictable. Despite the bitter winter chill, I spent hour upon hour roaming the stalls, stopping to sit by a fire and listen to a band, watching performers and immersing myself in the fierce debauchery and excitement of it all. As a woman on my own at a late-night open-air event I felt incredibly comfortable and safe. I suggest you mark your calendars and plan a trip to Hobart in winter 2025, it really was extraordinary. darkmofo.net.au

Thank you Hobart, this was an eye opener and a Tassie taster that has left me craving much more. My only regret is that I had to leave before I could take my Dark Mofo dip at the most stripped-back and celebrated affair of them all: the annual nude solstice swim at Long Beach… not.

Kelli Brett travelled to Hobart courtesy of Dark Mofo and Tourism Tasmania. darkmofo.net.au discovertasmania.com.au