Morsels

Tuesday, 20 February, 2001 - 21:00
THE annual Fig Festival is being celebrated at Ravenswood Sanctuary on the Labour Day long weekend.

The two-day festival provides entertainment for young and old, particularly with the dedicated “Imagine” concert to Beatle rockers Paul McCartney and John Lennon by Helen Mathews and the Jazz Divas.

If you want to do all things “figgy” then the weekend provides the perfect opportunity.

The festival, which began three years ago, was inspired by the ancient fig trees at Sanctuary Park and throughout the Peel region, and the lunch party on the Sunday afternoon with food personality Jan Oldham, will explore the wonders that the figs can do for food.

Ms Oldham is renowned for bringing out the satisfying flavours, textures, and colours of the versatile fig.

Bookings are essential for the lunch with Ms Oldham and cost $30, however the entry into the festival is free.

Also providing fig-inspired food is the Redcliffe Barn Café, which will serve up delicious treats including fig biscotti, fig muffins, and other specially created fig-flavoured delights.

And a long weekend food festival would not be complete without the finest Western Australian wines which will be available to wash down the delights of the kitchen.

While experiencing the different ways to enjoy figs, the youngsters will be entertained by Geoff Blight and his famous farmyard animals as well as the fun and games of bouncy castles, canoe rides, face painting and mountain bikes.

Just one hour out of Perth, the festival is set to celebrate over Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 March with fun, food, and wine.

Gates open daily from 10am to 4pm and admission is free. Gates open for the twilight concert at 5.30pm on Sunday evening and tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and pensioners, and children under-14 are free.

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PERTH‘S fantastic March weather is allowing many restaurants to offer outdoor dining. The elegant Dear Friends Restaurant is presenting Divas under the Stars on Sunday, March 11.

Little Black Dress will be performing and the dynamic group of sisters, combining sex appeal, style and talent, to provide an evening of musical bliss.

Enjoy the music with a four-course meal served by chef Philip Swar and wines from Houghton’s.

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We’re told so many things these days about what is hygienic food handling and what’s not, but any confusion you may have will be put at rest with the release of the FoodSafe Plus Food Safety Program Manual developed by the Australian Institute of Environmental Health (WA).

The Australian Institute of Environmental Health (WA) says those working in the industry need to overcome problems associated with food handling so they can perform under new national regulations for safe food handling.

Building on the FoodSafe program, which is an easy to use and affordable food safety- training program, the manual works on a preventative basis and will help businesses identify problems associated with food handling.

The manual will help those in the food business who want to progress towards an accredited quality system such as ISO 9002.

For further information on FoodSafe training programs call 1800 093 000