Curd nerds can expect samples of cheese and wine, along with specialty cheese dishes. Photo: Canberra Cheese Festival.
Following the success of 2025’s Oozy Boozy cheese and wine festival, the team behind Belconnen cheese merchants Le Cheeserie are launching The Canberra Cheese Festival. To be held at the newly relocated Grainger Gallery in Fyshwick, the festival will welcome boutique cheesemakers from all over Australia, as well as an array of Canberra Region winemakers and premium retailers.
Co-founder of Le Cheeserie, Kaitlin Towner, told Region that while Oozy Boozy zeroed in on cheeses from around the world, this festival will bring the attention squarely back to Australia.
“We really wanted to focus on supporting Australian producers … The dairy industry is struggling because a lot of people choose to buy French, Swiss and Italian cheeses. But Australian producers make amazing cheese, so we’re going to showcase that,” she said.
“Everything except for caviar will be Australian at the event!”
Extra-cheesy Parmesan wheel pasta will be available at the festival. Photo: Canberra Cheese Festival.
Festival attendees can enjoy luxurious (and gloriously stinky) raclette melted over bread. Parmesan wheel pasta will also be available for purchase on the day. While both raclette and parmesan are usually made internationally, Kaitlin says Le Cheeserie has sourced local versions of both for these indulgent foods.
“We’ll cut a wheel of Australian parmesan in half, and dig out the centre to make a bowl. You cook pasta, then put it into the bowl with the wheel of cheese, so you’re picking up and melting the cheese as you mix the pasta, so it becomes cheesy deliciousness.”
Grainger Gallery will host the festival at their new location in a historic two-storey brick building on Geelong Street, which formerly housed a timber warehouse. Downstairs will host a range of local Canberra district wineries offering tastings and bottle sales, along with a cocktail bar and the hot food stations. Head upstairs to enjoy tastings from a range of boutique Australian cheese and meet the people who make them.
The Canberra Cheese Festival will bring together Australian artisan cheese makers for a weekend of dairy bliss. Photo: Canberra Cheese Festival.
Attendees can pre-purchase a caviar tasting pack, or buy bumps (with or without the traditional shot of vodka) on the day.
Organisers are tight-lipped about which cheesemakers will be attending, but Long Paddock Cheese from Castlemaine, Victoria, will be there. There are also hints of producers coming from as far afield as Tasmania, with more details promised soon.
A $20 entry ticket will give guests access to cheese and wine samples, and a branded cooler bag for any purchases; a $35 ticket also includes a wine glass.
The Canberra Cheese Festival will run from 8 to 10 May at Grainger Gallery, 1/34 Geelong Street, Fyshwick, with six sessions across the weekend. Tickets are on sale now via Humanitix. Follow the Canberra Cheese Festival on Instagram.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
