Taste of Summer

Taste of Summer, formerly known as Taste of Tasmania, holds the distinction of being the oldest and largest food and drink festival in the whole of Australia. Every year, over the final days of December and into the New Year, it takes over Hobart's waterfront, drawing more than 100,000 visitors to what has become a defining fixture of the city's summer calendar.

The festival's real strength lies in Tasmania's food identity — cool-climate produce, exceptional seafood, and a genuinely thriving small-producer scene. Around 100 market stalls showcase Tasmanian specialities exclusively, from fresh seafood and artisan cheese to mushrooms and craft beer, alongside fine dining pop-ups and cooking demonstrations from the island's best-known chefs.

What makes Taste of Summer feel different from many city food festivals is its setting: right on the Hobart waterfront, with the harbour and its working fishing fleet as a backdrop. For many Tasmanians, attending has become as much a part of the turn of the year as any fireworks display — a genuinely local tradition that happens to also welcome the world.