While agriculture remains the star attraction of Carrick's Agfest, the food is taking on a life of its own.
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CHRIS CLARKE and ZONA BLACK took their tastebuds on a tour of the site. . .
THE PITSTOP - Taverner's Boutique Brewery at S38-15 South Street and Australian Honey Products at S76c South Street.
The folk at Taverner's Boutique Brewery have bigger-than-usual smiles this Agfest.
It is the Launceston-based company's first outing since their Strong Honey Ale claimed a silver medal at the Monde Selections competition in Belgium.
The award is yet another accolade for owners Yeonsoon and Lindsay Bourke.
``This is the first time that we've won something with this beer,'' Mrs Bourke said.
The business's Honey Pale Ale and Honey Porter are old hats when it comes to taking awards.
The brewery's honey beer range and honey mead are available at both sites, with the Australian Honey Products stall also stocking honey and honey products.
THE PITSTOP - Bodhi Farm Organics at S72d South Street
Tastes of the Middle East have made their way to Agfest, as Tanya Schramer brings her awarding winning Dukkah range to Quercus Rural Youth Park.
Dukkah is an Egyptian dipping spice mix, used with bread and oil.
Despite success at the Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney Fine Food Awards however, Mrs Schramer said her business started from humble beginnings.
``I've got two young boys, a nine-year-old and an 11-year-old and I've been doing this for three years,'' she said.
``They didn't have any after school or before school care, so I wanted to do something that was good for them. I started at the school markets in the Huon Valley and then went to Salamanca and it has taken off in three years. Now I sell to distributors in Queensland, I've just started in Victoria and all around Tassie too.''
Mrs Schramer said while her range is inspired by Middle Eastern flavours, her ingredients are 100 per cent Tasmanian.
``The almond flavour I have is based on the original recipe, but there's all kinds of recipes that I have made and you can also use them for cooking fish, chicken, rice and veggies.
``Our latest one is a Tassie blend. We've only had it out about four weeks and it's all Tasmanian ingredients, like hazelnuts, wasabi, wackame and mountain pepper.''
A range of flavours can be experienced at Bodhi Farm Organic's tent at Agfest, including garlic, mild spice, hot spice and many more.
THE PITSTOP - Jimmy's Gourmet Game at S38-34, South Street
Success at his parent's Perth butcher has prompted Jimmy Groves to bring his family's prized meat collection to Agfest.
And he's been in high demand.
Jimmy's Gourmet Game features tastes of `game foods' from across Tasmania, including wallaby and venison, moulded into delicious burgers and hot dogs.
Mr Groves said while controversial in some people's eyes, game foods have become very popular.
``We've used the native Bennett's Wallaby, we've created hamburgers and made soup out of the tails,'' he said.
``The venison, we boned out the whole venison and processed them at our shop in Perth to make cheese kranskies.
``Agfest being a rural community, I haven't had anyone complain yet. But I imagine if I was in the middle of Brisbane St, I'd have people coming up to me wanting to burn me out.''
THE PITSTOP - Goaty Hill Wine Tasmania at S38-01, South Street
Tasmanian wines are the ``flavour of the month'' in Australia currently, according to Goaty Hill Tasmania winemaker Markus Maislinger.
Mr Maislinger's popularity in the Tamar Valley has tempted him to try his luck at Agfest this year - with excellent results.
``We think we make some pretty damn good wine and it's been pretty popular with the crowd,'' he said.
``The food at Agfest is becoming more popular with the crowd, so people are actually looking for Tasmanian foods and drinks, whether it's to consume here or take back as a present or something.''
Mr Maislinger said while his business does not distribute a lot of product overseas, business is red hot in the Tasmanian market.
``Being a Tassie wine, a lot of our stuff doesn't leave Tasmania. A lot of our stuff gets sold and consumed here. We think that's great.
``In terms of Tassie wine production, we're the flavour of the month in Australia too. There's been a lot of interest in Tasmanian wines. Our Pinot and Riesling are our probably best-known wines,'' he said.
THE PITSTOP - Modo Mio Naked at S38-05, South Street
If you've heard of Susanne Dobrowski, then you've probably heard of her famous Modo Mio Naked brownies.
While still relatively new to the dessert market, Mrs Dobrowski has already taken home several gongs for her beloved recipe.
``hey are pretty good,'' she said.
``If they weren't pretty good, I probably wouldn't be making them.
``We've won about 10 awards so far. We got the champion for chocolate at the Sydney Fine Food Awards and that was for the wattle seed and walnut brownie.''
Modo Mio Naked was founded in September last year and even Mrs Dobrowski was shocked at the rapid pace her product was snapped up by the Australian food industry.
``I've actually got another company that does hampers,'' she said.
``I wanted a hamper that was different because there are a lot of hamper companies that do the same things. So I made the brownies, didn't like them and then it took me six weeks to develop the recipe the way I wanted it. And you can only get the brownies in the particular hamper that I do, you can't get them anywhere else. But it really has taken on a life of its own, so now it's a stand alone company.''