Karen Martini to return for Festivale 2020

The Melbourne-based chef, restaurateur and food writer will be guest chef for the Festivale lunch on January 31 at Stillwater Restaurant, where she will develop a three-course menu showcasing the best in Tasmanian produce.

On Friday Martini got an early taste of what to expect as she helped Drysdale apprentice chefs, accompanied by their TasTAFE teacher, cook up a feast for 60 guests as part of the Restaurant Tasmania series.

With a focus on Tasmanian produce and seasonal ingredients, Ms Martini said the experience of working with the apprentice chefs had been nostalgic.

"This day and age in the industry, it is a very different landscape," she said.

"But stepping into TAFE does make me reflect on my early years. I was 16 when I started cooking, and you can see that rawness, but also the eagerness in them today."

Festivale will return to City Park from January 31 to February 2. Along with Friday's lunch, Martini will also host a cooking demonstration, presented by the Tasmanian Food Co.

Having thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Festivale 2019, Martini said she was still working on what she would prepare in January.

"I am pretty chuffed to be apart of it again," she said.

"I will be focusing on some of the star producers and sponsors of the area. But I am definitely going to showcase some summer truffles from the Tasmanian Truffle farm that I visited."

Visit festivale.com.au for more information.