A Taste of Kakadu 2020
Update - 18th March 2020: Kakadu Tourism and Parks Australia takes the health and well-being of its visitors very seriously. Following the advice of the Australian Government we have postponed this event to later in the year. New dates will be announced in the coming months. Please stay safe during this difficult time and thank you for your understanding.
Australia’s premier Indigenous food and culture festival, A Taste of Kakadu, will be staged across Kakadu National Park from 22 to 31 May 2019, serving up a menu of ancient cuisine with modern twists.
This year’s festival has been expanded to include a range of new food and cultural experiences showcasing the rich Indigenous culture and breathtaking scenery of Kakadu National Park.
Over nine days, visitors can embark on guided foraging walks tasting ‘super foods' and delicacies such as Kakadu plums, enjoy slow-cooked Kakadu staples such as crocodile, barramundi and buffalo cooked in ground ovens, and glide along the famed barramundi-filled Yellow Water Billabong while enjoying bush tucker-inspired canapes.
‘Pop-up’ dinners are back by popular demand, this year featuring culinary Jedi master, Paul ‘Yoda’ Iskov’s Fervor, which will combine locally sourced bush tucker and sumptuous contemporary elements, all against the backdrop of Kakadu’s stunning landscape. In 2020, Yoda will be hosting two of his trademark dinners along with cooking demonstrations at the Festival Hub, located at the Bowali Visitor Centre, where there will be a hive of food stalls, live music and arts and crafts over two weekends.
Along with Fervor, festival-goers will be tempted by an enticing array of culinary experiences including stargazing and Kakadu Bininj story-telling at Cooinda Airstrip while enjoying a delectable menu prepared by Cooinda Lodge's head chef; or try your luck crocodile-spotting while cruising through the spectacular Yellow Water wetlands with an on-board menu of native-inspired canapes.
Beyond the Festival Hub, the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel is the place to be with Kakadu-inspired cocktails and the Escarpment Restaurant serving up a Taste of Kakadu buffet every night, showcasing the best flavours from the NT and Kakadu. Guests can also wander out to the hotel lawns and enjoy a selection of short films from the NT Travelling Film Festival program.
Once festival-goers have had their fill of the delicious food on offer, the Marrawuddi gallery will provide an opportunity to take in some of the Top End’s best Indigenous art with the Man Me Art Exhibition and Rarrk Art Tea Towel Workshop. Walk among art in nature as the trees around the Bowali Visitor Centre are adorned with beautiful food-themed artworks from local artists, then create a very special Taste of Kakadu memory as you join local artists to design your own tea towel using traditional Kakadu/Arnhem Rarrk style painting.
Kakadu National Park is dual World Heritage-listed for its outstanding cultural and natural values. It is home to Bininj/Munnguy, who have lived in the region for thousands of generations.
Accommodation is available during the Festival at Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel (rooms available from $205 per night per room), the newly-refurbished Cooinda Lodge (from $219pn), the new Outback Retreat glamping tents (from $179pn) and Cooinda Camping Grounds (from $30pn for a site).
To book tickets and begin planning your visit to A Taste of Kakadu visit https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/taste/