Pluck oysters fresh from the ocean for lunch on the Eyre Peninsula, let your taste buds lead the way on a food safari through Kangaroo Island or learn about a food culture thousands of years old on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Loosen your belt buckle and dig into our guide to the best gourmet adventures in South Australia.
1. Seafood safari, Eyre Peninsula
Nothing compares to the satisfaction of tucking into a meal you've sourced yourself, especially when some of the best seafood in the world is on the menu. With pristine waters to thank for producing some of the world's best prawns, abalone, tuna, King George Whiting, snapper, mussels, octopus, squid and more, the Eyre Peninsula rightly lays claim to being seafood capital of Australia, and Australian Coastal Safaris have your ticket to one of the freshest seafood buffet's in town. The ultimate ocean to plate experience for seafood lovers, unearth cockles from pristine powdery sand then 4WD through undulating sand dunes to your very own deserted beach where you can cast a line for Australian Salmon. Afterwards, don your snorkel and dive into the crystal-clear waters to collect fresh abalone just metres from the shore, all in time for lunch.
2. Coffin Bay Oysters, Eyre Peninsula
Another must for seafood lovers on the Eyre Peninsula? Wading waist-deep into the pristine waters of Coffin Bay to slurp what are arguably the world's best oysters straight from the source on a working oyster farm. Pull-up in Coffin Bay, jump on-board an oyster boat, then chug out to the beautiful waters of Coffin Bay National Park with Coffin Bay Oyster Farm or Experience Coffin Bay. Take-in the Eyre Peninsula's truly unique coastal scenery as you cruise to the oyster lease, local wine and freshly shucked oysters at the ready. See how oysters are grown, pick up some tricks of the trade, then devour what are arguably the best oysters in the world, plucked straight from the sea by the farmer himself.
If you'd rather stay on land, you can dig into world-famous Eyre Peninsula oysters and local wine at Oyster HQ, right on the foreshore.
3. Market to table, Barossa
The Barossa is defined by good food and good wine, and one of the best foodie experiences awaits at the home of an Australian culinary legend. In the heart of the Barossa on Maggie Beer's Farm in Nuriootpa, you'll not only get to taste the region's best produce, you'll learn where to source the best ingredients, cook side-by-side with one of the region's best chefs, then tuck into your own market-fresh meal. Join The Farm Eatery head chef Tim for the day and learn to recreate some of the restaurants signature dishes on the Market to Table experience. Accompany Tim to the popular Barossa Farmers Markets, meet the local producers and source regional produce to feature in your four-course lunch. You'll even get the recipes to take home, so you impress at your next dinner party. Hungry for more? The Farm Eatery also offers classes specialising in handmade cheese, artisan bread, pasta, pickles and preserves, and even plant-based cooking.
4. Cheesemaking, Adelaide Hills
Udder Delight's master class in is a one-whey ticket to a cheese lover's heart. Tucked in the bustling village of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, feast on fromage then learn how to make your own from scratch in the Udder Delights cheese cellar. After tasting your way through a cheese and wine flight, don your fromager's cap and make feta, craft camembert and turn whey into ricotta under the guidance of one of the Udder Delights original cheese makers, Sheree Sullivan. You'll even get to take home your creations, plus one of your favourite Udder Delights cheeses. Calcium is important, after all.
5. Local produce tour, Kangaroo Island
The ultimate forage and feast experience, Exceptional Kangaroo Island's Fine Flavours tour is a gastronomic gateway to this gourmet island paradise. Meet local artisan producers and taste your way around the island over seven glorious food-filled hours. For entrée, taste olives and olive oil among the sprawling grove at Kangaroo Island Olives then settle in for a local feast featuring Pacific Oysters grown in the calm waters just offshore at Eastern Cove at the Oyster Farm Shop. Taste honey produced from the world's last remaining population of pure Ligurian Bees, sip premium wines crafted by ex-Bordeaux wine maker Jacques Lurton at the Islander Estate Vineyard, then toast to a day well spent sipping one of the world's most awarded gins at Kangaroo Island Spirits.
6. Bushfoods, Fleurieu Peninsula
On the banks of the Coorong, a culinary experience thousands of years in the making awaits. Discover and taste the unique native foods of the Fleurieu Peninsula with the knowledge of a Ngarrindjeri guide on the Ngarrindjeri Kurangk Culture Experience Tour. An authentic bushfood experience, your Aboriginal guide will unearth the native berries, foods and medicinal plants of the area for you to try and learn about how the Ngarrindjeri have lived on the banks of the Coorong for thousands of years. Harvest fresh pipis from the pristine shores, then tuck into lunch featuring native bushfoods and local wines. On tour with Spirit of the Coorong, you'll also be initiated into country with a smoke ceremony, spot abundant local birdlife, and witness the epic end to the Murray River at the Murray Mouth.
7. Adelaide Central Markets tour, Adelaide
A walk through the Adelaide Central Market is a gastronomic gateway to the globe, especially when you come armed with a local foodie guide by your side. On the Adelaide Central Markets Discovery Tour with Food Tours Australia, stroll through a labyrinth of stalls selling everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, to small goods, cheeses and bush tucker. Meet local producers, hear their stories and most importantly taste premium foods grown right here in South Australia. Your guide will also give you insider's knowledge on the best spots to eat in South Australia.
Adelaide, a foodie city
Still hungry? Get ready for main course and discover why Adelaide is a renowned foodie city, pull up a seat at one of Adelaide's best restaurants, snack on something sustainable or taste test your way through South Australia on the ultimate foodie road trip.
