On Saturday night I attended the launch of The Farm - a spectacular venue in the Barossa Valley, SA. Elli and Saskia Beer, daughters of the irrepressible Maggie Beer, have opened The Farm with a view to offering a really flexible function centre for weddings and corporate events alike. The venue itself was architecturally designed and it shows. What struck me was the perfect, neutral minimalism of the room - it would lend itself to any style of decor and could be dressed up or left just as it is. And it's big - the area could easily seat 150+ for dinner or many more for cocktail functions. The view, overlooking a lake is beautiful too, with expansive windows letting the natural sunlight flood indoors.
Now, the food - let's talk about the food! It was fantastic. There were little puffs of parmesan that burst with gooey cheese as you bit into them, delicious mushrooms on puff pastry shells, Maggie's famous paté on toast, an asian style beef carpaccio followed by goose rillette - and that was just to start. After pre-dinner drinks by the lake, on a perfect summer's night, we were led into the function centre where a large table was set with platters of smoked trout, Saskia's lamb and chicken, farm-style pies, salads and rustic loaves of bread. So much food!
I had a great time mingling with culinary celebrities including Maggie and the lovely Kylie Kwong and wine legends including the respected Peter Lehmann, who was a jolly nice chap.
There is plenty of local accommodation ranging from the large Novatel hotel, to quaint little B&Bs so it would make a really lovely wedding destination for couples wanting to treat their guests to the sights and tastes of the beautiful Barossa Valley.
Posted by Jane Cameron
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