School fairs are unique reflections of their communities. Tatachilla Lutheran College's upcoming Twilight Food Affair will showcase the Fleurieu Peninsula's fine wine, delicious food and talented musicians in a local celebration that welcomes everyone.

This will be Noel Mifsud’s first Twilight Food Affair since he took up the position of principal at Tatachilla Lutheran College in mid-2020. He is just one of thousands looking forward to the annual event’s reappearance.

“We haven’t had the Food Affair for three years, but it’s been on our mind for three years,” Noel explains. The organising committee has been working on the fair’s return since last year and “it’s been a real joy to hear that excitement and celebration with the team,” he says.

“The biggest point of excitement is just to be able to celebrate as a community after COVID,” he says. “It seems to be a pertinent theme that is coming across – a sense of community at Tatachilla and a sense of Fleurieu community. To be able to support local businesses again is a real privilege for the college.”

For attendees, this translates to an exciting night of great local food and wine, plus music from Sisters of Abundance, student ensembles and the College rock band. There will also be carnival rides for thrill-seekers of all ages.

As the school’s principal, Noel has been fielding some of the more important questions about the event. He says one of the school’s youngest students asked about the particulars of the fireworks show. His promise that it will have “all the colours of the rainbow” and “go really high” was reportedly met with excited hand clapping and skipping.

This is a much-anticipated event across Tatachilla, McLaren Vale and the surrounding peninsula. Previous years saw crowds of more than 3000 flocking to the school’s grounds, including many people from Adelaide.

Student and teacher involvement in the event has always been high, and this year’s committee has been inundated with offers of help.

“I think it just fits in with our culture and ethos of celebration of community service,” he says. “Students will be running the event in so many ways.”

This includes working on the food stalls, activities and games, and – for some of the school’s student musicians – performing on stage.

Noel says the Twilight Food Affair offers an opportunity for families considering a Tatachilla Lutheran College education to experience the school spirit firsthand.

The wide range of delicious food on offer will include Argentinian grilled chicken from Chimichurri Grill, mouth-watering paella from Carlito’s Paella, wood-fired pizza and affogati from Van Coota, authentic Sicilian cuisine from Santopalato and native foods from Meez On Plus.

The latter’s owner Billie Cornthwaite says the school provided the impetus for her to launch nine years ago when she was asked to cater for their council meetings.

Over the past few years, her focus on native foods has found an audience and business is now brisk – 34 events in March, including catering for Ed Sheeran and his team when he recently performed in Adelaide.

Working alongside Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri and Latji Latji elder Aunty Daphne Rickett, she typically serves up emu and crocodile; however, for the Twilight Food Affair the menu will be a different spin on familiar dishes.

“We’re looking at doing some warrigal greens and pumpkin arancini, because everybody loves their arancini,” Billie says. “And roo dogs.”

This take on hot dogs sees a kangaroo and pepperberry sausage served with a karkalla pickle and lemon myrtle aioli.

This will be Meez On Plus’s fifth time at the Twilight Food Affair and Billie says the school “is a beautiful community, absolutely beautiful”.

Sustainability, seasonality and zero waste are key factors in Billie’s cooking. This meshes well with the school’s commitment to environmental education, which includes their EcoClassroom.

Find more on the Twilight Food Affair at the college’s website.