Some travel for pleasure, some to lose themselves and some to find something new within them. With an aim to discover and explore cuisines from across the world, and to draw inspiration from global cultures, renowned chef and restaurateur Kunal Kapoor has taken up a journey across the hinterlands of Australia through his series #TravelWithKunal, which combines exciting travel with unique food and wine experiences.
From exploring the wildlife at Kangaroo Island into the bustling streets of Adelaide, to Barossa Valley, one of the world’s greatest wine growing areas, producing the popular Jacob’s Creek, the journey was a step towards his year-long mission to find new experiences, Chef Kunal tells us.
“I’ve been an active chef for the last 18 years now and beyond a point it becomes really difficult to innovate or do things differently. There comes a point where you need to challenge yourself, you need to get out and explore. This entire year for me has all been travelling around the world and within India for the sake of exploring cuisines and places, food and wines. Getting those experiences together will contribute to my new avatar of cooking,” says Kunal, who has been a popular television host for shows like Masterchef India.
The choice of Australia as the destination for the series was an easy choice to make, considering the plethora of gastronomic experiences it opens one up to, he says.
“When we talk about good food and wine, one of the places that top the list in the world is Australia. I’ve been to Australia many times, but this time it was solely in search of good ingredients and great cuisine. From farming, to procurement, to getting into the markets, there are some of the greatest chefs who do justice to the ingredients — that’s how I planned this trip, by having a little bit of adventure alongside my food and wine exploration.” #TravelWithKunal will air these adventures every Friday at 11 am on Kunal’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
The two-week-long trip covers some of the most picturesque locales of South Australia. “I travelled through south Australia and Queensland. I had never been to Adelaide, and I decided my first stop would be Adelaide, the moment I landed at around 6.30 am, I headed straight to the Adelaide Central Market. It’s a market which is a floor below the ground and it’s a whole different world of food that it takes you into — the freshest of the vegetables, meats, fruit and wines. I tried the weirdest meats, crocodile sausage and kangaroo meat, which is pretty common among the locals. For me, it was a wow moment experiencing all this!”
Throughout the trip, he was looking for experiences that were quintessentially Australian, Kunal says. “There are hidden ingredients that are very local to a region. There is a lot of local produce that is simple, exquisite that one can explore. There are the experiences that excite you as a foodie. The whole idea is to reconnect with nature and bridge the gaps we have in the world,” Kunal adds
signing off.
